In moderation, wine, particularly red, has been shown to be good for your health.
Wine, as we all know, is good for us – or is it? Barely a week goes by without new scientific research claiming that wine can either prevent or reduce the severity of numerous illnesses and ailments.
The link between wine and health has always been a major topic for the media. An episode of 60 Minutes broadcast in the United States in the early 1990s about the French Paradox did wonders for the US wine industry, with millions of Americans delighted to hear that all they had to do to protect their heart was to drink more red wine.
And in the UK, a similar effect was caused by Roger Corder’s book The Wine Diet, which convinced many that red wine, in particular, does us a lot of good.
But sadly, it is not as simple as that.
In fact, numerous studies have shown that wine consumption can lead to a wide variety of conditions, including dementia, depression, and cancer.
Of course, everyone knows that excessive alcohol consumption can be fatal, and while we would never seek to trivialise this important research – or, for that matter, the seriousness of the conditions listed below – such contradictory evidence makes it impossible for those who drink wine within reasonable limits to know what the long-term effects on their health will be.
And until incontrovertible medical proof exists that wine should be approached with extreme caution, we should – and we will – carry on drinking.
