Wine is regarded as an important product of civilization, bringing significant benefits to the human body. At the same time, it has been discovered that wine has great potential to harm if not properly used.
From the ethnographic material available, it is clear that in all cultures where more than one type of alcoholic beverage is available, drinks are classified in terms of their social meaning, and the classification of drinks is used to define the social world.
Few, if any, alcoholic beverages are “socially neutral”; every drink is loaded with symbolic meaning; every drink conveys a message. Alcohol is a symbolic vehicle for identifying, describing, constructing, and manipulating cultural systems, values, interpersonal relationships, behavioral norms, and expectations. Choice of beverage is rarely a matter of personal taste.
A United States survey examined perceptions of the situational appropriateness of various types of alcoholic drinks, finding that wine, but not spirits or beer, is considered an appropriate accompaniment to a meal; wine and spirits, but not beer, are appropriate drinks for celebrations, while beer is the most appropriate drink for informal, relaxation-oriented occasions.
Scientists have discovered that wine can be physically beneficial. Wine can be dangerous, too, and out-of-control consumption can be a problem. How societies balance the benefits and dangers of alcohol is the subject of constant revealing debate.
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Historical and Cultural Functions of Wine
A look into the past reveals that in all the writings our ancestors left behind as a witness of their times and cultures, among all beverages created by man, wine is the one most frequently mentioned, occupying a place of absolute importance.
Wine is rarely drunk to quench thirst. Wine has always played a primary role in social and cultural events among the people in which it was present.
Wine as a Situation Definer
At the simplest level, drinks are used to define the nature of the occasion. In many Western cultures, for example, champagne is synonymous with celebration, such that if champagne is ordered or served at an otherwise “ordinary” occasion, someone will invariably ask, “What are we celebrating?”
Religious Significance of Wine
In many religions and secret cult societies, wine is considered a ritual element. For example, in Christianity, wine is essential in celebrating the Eucharist; it is considered sacred, going beyond the simple concept of a beverage. Dionysus, Bacchus, and Liber are examples of the ancient Greek and Roman gods of wine. These gods embodied many of the qualities that Greeks and Romans saw in wine itself:
- Life and death
- Nature and civilization
- Male and female.
Social Role of Wine
Like food, wine has a social role to play:
- Wine is a beverage of communion, friendship, aggregation, and union.
- The most important moments in the life of men are still today celebrated by wine.
- It is consumed as a beverage to wish good luck for agreements.
- It is used to celebrate special events.
Wine as a Spiritual Component
Wine brings people together. It can reduce sadness and increase happiness. Wine amplifies a sense of well-being. Wine can bewitch and bewilder, transfix and inspire. By evoking these simple social and emotional responses, wine can be said to be a spiritual component.
Wine as a Global Commodity
Wine runs the gamut from mass production to artistic craftsmanship, offering insight at every level into successes and failures in human organization, determination, and vision. The wine business, from agriculture to winemaking to sales and education, is rich in powerful personalities. Wine offers culture and connoisseurship while touching on art and philosophy.
Health Benefits of Wine
The benefits of wine to the human body are numerous. Wine is good for the heart; wine in moderation might help one shed weight, reduce forgetfulness, boost immunity, and help prevent bone loss. The benefits of wine may include the following.
1. Wine Reduces Forgetfulness
Wine could preserve memory. When researchers gave memory quizzes to women in their 70s, those who drank one drink or more every day performed better than those who drank less or not at all. Wine helps prevent clots and reduce blood vessel inflammation, both of which have been linked to cognitive decline and heart disease. Alcohol also seems to raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the so-called good cholesterol, which helps unclog the arteries.
2. Wine Supports Weight Management
Studies have shown that people who drink wine daily have lower body mass than those who indulge occasionally; moderate wine drinkers have narrower waists and less abdominal fat than people who drink liquor. Alcohol may help the body burn extra calories after taking a glass. Beer seems to have a similar effect.
3. Wine Boosts Body’s Defenses
In a British study, those who drank roughly a glass of wine a day reduced by 11 percent their risk of infection by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, a major cause of gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancers. As little as half a glass may also guard against food poisoning caused by germs like Salmonella when people are exposed to contaminated food, according to a Spanish study.
4. Wine Guards Against Ovarian Problems
When Australian researchers recently compared women with ovarian cancer to cancer-free women, they found that roughly one glass of wine a day seemed to reduce the risk of the disease by as much as 50 percent. Earlier research at the University of Hawaii produced similar findings.
Experts suspect this may be due to antioxidants or phytoestrogens, which have high anticancer properties and are prevalent in wine. In a recent study conducted by the University of Michigan, a red wine compound helped kill ovarian cancer cells in a test tube.
Focus on wine’s positive benefits regarding cancer has centered on the antioxidant properties of resveratrol, found in grapes, with some laboratory results showing a protective quality that inhibits cancerous changes in cells.
The research is ongoing with no conclusive results, though some studies suggest that moderate wine consumption may lower the risk for lung, ovarian, and prostate cancer.
5. Wine Supports Bone Health
On average, women who drink moderately seem to have higher bone mass than abstainers. Alcohol appears to boost estrogen levels; the hormone seems to slow the body’s destruction of old bone more than it slows the production of new bone.
Heavy alcohol consumption has been shown to have a damaging effect on the cellular processes that create bone tissue. Long-term alcoholic consumption at high levels increases the frequency of fractures.
Studies from St. Thomas’ Hospital in London and the Epidémiologie de l’Ostéoporose (EPIDOS) medical group in France suggest that moderate wine consumption may offer positive benefits to women, particularly elderly women, in retaining bone density and reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis.
6. Wine Prevents Blood Sugar Problems
Premenopausal women who drink one or two glasses of wine a day are 40 percent less likely than women who do not drink to develop Type-2 diabetes, according to a 10-year study by Harvard Medical School. While the reasons are not clear, wine seems to reduce insulin resistance in diabetic patients.
Research has shown that moderate levels of alcohol consumed with meals do not have a substantial impact on blood sugar levels. A 2005 study presented to the American Diabetes Association suggests that moderate consumption may lower the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes.
7. Wine Aids Digestion and Nutrient Absorption
Wine can improve digestion. It can also increase the body’s absorption of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. All these important minerals help prevent osteoporosis. Red wine also contains iron, a necessary mineral for oxygen transportation in the body.
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Key Health-Promoting Components in Red Wine
The real benefits in red wine are the ingredients derived from the grapes themselves. The best part of the grape is the skin. Since the skins are used in the process of fermentation, their benefits get absorbed into the red wine.
The skin contains over 400 health-promoting substances like tannins, phenols, flavonoids, bioflavonoids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and polyphenols like quercetin, resveratrol, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), and catechins.
They all work together to raise the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lower the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Most of these act like antioxidants in the blood. Antioxidants reduce free radicals in the body, which cause damage, help create conditions for disease, and cause aging.
Specifically, they donate electrons to “unstable” molecules, which are literally bouncing around in the blood, putting small bits in blood vessels while damaging healthy cells. This action alone helps the body repair the damaged tissue. It is this “damage” that we call the “signs of aging.”
1. Resveratrol in Red Wine
Resveratrol is the main component of red wine. It is also found in the skins of grapes. Resveratrol is the antibody produced by grapes to fight disease, fungi, or injury. It repairs cells, reduces inflammation, and acts as an antioxidant in slowing the aging process.
Where free radicals damage healthy cells, which cause aged skin, resveratrol not only combats the free radicals but also repairs the damaged cells. The best way to absorb resveratrol in humans appears to be buccal delivery, that is, without swallowing, but by direct absorption through the inside of the mouth. The way wine drinkers swish the wine in their mouth before swallowing is what makes the combination so effective.
2. Flavonoids and Bioflavonoids in Wine
These two are really the same. Their purpose in plants is to create the blue and yellow pigments in flowers and leaves but they do so much more. Research has shown them to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-allergy abilities. All together, these ingredients make up the health benefits of drinking wine.
The only thing healthier than adding red wine to the diet is quitting smoking. While white wine does have its benefits, it cannot hold a candle to the power grape skins add to the health benefits of drinking wine.
3. Tannins in Wine
Tannins are what give wine its bitter and dry taste. They are found in the skin and seeds of the grapes. They are proanthocyanidins (often referred to as OPCs). Tannins work like antioxidants; they prevent hardening of the arteries and inhibit the growth of plaque on the teeth.
Winemakers often go to great lengths to reduce the number of tannins in wine. Press wine, on the other hand, is extremely high in tannins because the winemakers do not deseed the grapes; rather, they press and break the seeds during winemaking.
4. Quercetin in Wine
This is another pigment in red grapes. Also found in apples, green onions, and green tea, quercetin works as an anti-inflammatory, antihistamine, and antioxidant. Research is currently underway to see how quercetin fights cancer cells.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What is the cultural significance of wine in society?
Wine is a symbolic vehicle for identifying, describing, constructing, and manipulating cultural systems, values, interpersonal relationships, behavioral norms, and expectations. It is rarely socially neutral, with each drink carrying symbolic meaning, often used to define the nature of occasions, such as celebrations with champagne in Western cultures. - How does wine function as a ritual element in religious contexts?
In many religions, wine is considered a sacred ritual element, such as in Christianity, where it is essential for celebrating the Eucharist. Ancient Greek and Roman gods like Dionysus, Bacchus, and Liber embodied qualities associated with wine, such as life, death, nature, civilization, and gender duality. - What social roles does wine play in human interactions?
Wine serves as a beverage of communion, friendship, aggregation, and union. It is consumed to celebrate significant life moments, wish good luck for agreements, and mark special events. - How does wine contribute to spiritual well-being?
Wine brings people together, reduces sadness, increases happiness, amplifies well-being, and can bewitch, bewilder, transfix, and inspire, making it a spiritual component in social and emotional contexts. - What are the health benefits of moderate wine consumption?
Moderate wine consumption may support heart health, reduce forgetfulness, aid weight management, boost immunity, protect against ovarian cancer, promote bone health, prevent Type-2 diabetes, and improve digestion and nutrient absorption. - What role does resveratrol play in the health benefits of wine?
Resveratrol, found in grape skins, acts as an antioxidant, repairs cells, reduces inflammation, and slows aging by combating free radicals and repairing damaged cells. Its absorption is enhanced by buccal delivery when wine is swished in the mouth. - How do tannins and flavonoids contribute to wine’s health effects?
Tannins, found in grape skins and seeds, act as antioxidants, preventing artery hardening and dental plaque growth. Flavonoids and bioflavonoids provide anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-allergy benefits, contributing to wine’s overall health-promoting properties. - Why is red wine considered more beneficial than white wine?
Red wine’s health benefits are greater due to the use of grape skins in fermentation, which contain over 400 health-promoting substances like tannins, flavonoids, resveratrol, and other antioxidants, whereas white wine, made without skins, has fewer of these compounds.
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