
Red wine health benefits 'overhyped' - mrfusion
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27371546
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cwilson
It always surprises me when people focus on one small part of a diet that they
hope is some kind of super-cure (or in this case, they want an excuse to drink
red wine more often). Of course red wine on it's own isn't going to do
anything for you, it's your entire diet and lifestyle that matters. Look at
the real reasons (which studies like this one do not mention at all) the
French likely have less heart disease and are in better shape than most
Americans:

\- They eat significantly smaller portions

\- They take much longer to eat their meals (resulting in eating much less,
because you know you're full)

\- There is a focus on quality food and cooking, which results in better
ingredients used

\- The focus on quality means a focus on freshness, which leads to less
processed food (especially refined carbs) being consumed

\- The french walk and ride bikes much more than their average American
counterpart

~~~
virtualwhys
You forgot a few:

\- The French smoke like chimneys

\- Drink some form of alcohol daily

\- Are dedicated carnivores (vegetarians are rare)

I come here a few months a year (south of France) and it always amazes me how
healthy everyone appears to be despite the excess of "sin" the French revel
in.

Lifestyle obviously comes into play in terms of longevity (I believe the
world's oldest woman was French and she smoked moderately into her 100s). In
other words, the phrase, "work before pleasure", very likely did not originate
in France.

~~~
davidw
> \- The French smoke like chimneys

In Italy, this is actually changing fairly quickly. 10+ years ago, they banned
smoking indoors, and I figure that, like a lot of rules here, people would
sort of pay attention for a few weeks and then gradually ignore it, but the
reality is that it's actually been fairly strictly enforced/followed, and
people are happy with the results. Smoking is still more common than in the
US, but diminishing.

~~~
bwanab
It's changing in France also. I'm old and most of my French friends are old
and not one of them smokes. This is obviously anecdotal and selection bias,
but in my 20+ years of observing I've noticed that restaurants have gone from
smoke filled rooms in which everyone is smoking to the occasional smoker at
the table next to you.

~~~
Totoradio
Smoking in bars and restaurants is banned in France since 2008. You won't find
anyone smoking in restaurants now.

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doktrin
If I understood the article correctly, a more appropriate title would be "
_Resveratrol_ health benefits 'overhyped'* :

> _Studies have shown that consumption of red wine, dark chocolate and berries
> reduces inflammation, leading researchers to speculate that their common
> ingredient, resveratrol, explains why._

> _He says any benefits of drinking wine or eating dark chocolate or berries,
> if they are there, must come from other shared ingredients. And it 's not
> clear how much you might need to eat or drink._

> _" These are complex foods, and all we really know from our study is that
> the benefits are probably not due to resveratrol."_

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toby
"Many studies have sought to explain why there is a low incidence of heart
disease in France, despite many of its inhabitants eating a high-fat diet."

It's funny that this is where this theory came from. It was unfathomable at
the time that maybe we were wrong about dietary fat.

~~~
prawks
And the article is furthering the opinion that a high-fat diet causes heart
disease by including that snippet.

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wwweston
Meanwhile:

"When it comes to cancer, no amount of alcohol is safe."

[http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/824237)

~~~
qianyilong
Huh fascinating. Thanks for the link. For everyone that dismisses this article
because it requires a login you can create a free account and they will let
you in.

~~~
alxv
You can read the article if you come from a Google search.

[http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medscape.com%2F...](http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medscape.com%2Fviewarticle%2F824237)

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greenmountin
It was kind of surprising to hear how just fraudulent the research on
reservatrol (characteristic red wine chemical) was. The guy was a regular
feature[1] on Retraction Watch until he passed away...

[1] [http://retractionwatch.com/category/by-author/dipak-
das/](http://retractionwatch.com/category/by-author/dipak-das/)

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orthecreedence
As is yoga, gluten free foods (for 99% of people who think they need it),
antioxidants, etc.

In general if you hear five people a day tell you how "X changed my life!!1"
it's probably bullshit mixed with a pinch of placebo.

Want to have a good life and be healthy? Spend more time outside, avoid long
commutes, take long breaks, do things you like doing whenever possible, value
yourself and your time, and don't take shit from people. This way even if you
do die young, you'll die with a smile.

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maerF0x0
most of what I've read that speaks of health benefits (cancer free +
longevity) also mention that you'd have to get the resveratrol from a
supplement because its unhealthy to drink the large number of glasses of wine
per day.

eg: "The Linus Pauling Institute has an interesting table that displays the
resveratrol levels of various wines, showing that an average glass of red wine
will range from 0.2 to 2.0 mg per glass of wine. In contrast, the typical
resveratrol supplement contains anywhere from 100 mg of resveratrol to 500 mg
of resveratrol per capsule" \---
[http://wine.about.com/od/wineandhealth/a/Red-Wine-And-
Resver...](http://wine.about.com/od/wineandhealth/a/Red-Wine-And-
Resveratrol.htm)

------
antidaily
Everything in moderation. Including moderation.

~~~
dredmorbius
_Lost Horizon_. Very good.

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blt
Big f'in surprise. Any instance of "X food substance will make you healthier
all by itself" is bullshit.

~~~
a8da6b0c91d
Well in rat experiments a little bit of alcohol in their water makes them live
longer. The supposed mechanism is that alcohol helps keep intestinal bacteria
in check and reduces endotoxin absorption.

There are various other reasons to think that in most people light alcohol
intake is protective. I don't think wine has anything to do with it. The
safest drink would be a high quality vodka.

~~~
mgcross
The vodka would need to be diluted prior to ingestion to qualify as safe.

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XorNot
Duh. We all knew what this was really about when we started talking about it.

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neduma
Along the lines, I heard that cheap wines ( probably cheap red wines, which
you can get from Trader Joe) are more healthier then costly wines.

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guelo
I always figured that was just something winos had latched onto to make
themselves feel good. Same with potheads touting marijuana's non-toxicity.

