Is Red Wine OK?

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bikerman
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Is Red Wine OK?

Post by bikerman »

I enjoy 1-2 glasses of wine a day. Since finding out I am 4/4, I have discontinued beer due to the grain/gluten content, and strictly limited my red wine to under two glasses a day. Red wine is recommended in the Mediterranean diet, and is ok in the Paleo and Keto diets, as long as it is “dry”. I try to drink only organic, low alcohol content wines.

Is it better to give up alcohol altogether, including red wine? Bredesen says that one glass or less per day is ok, but implies that none would be better. Does anyone know the rationale?
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CarrieS
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by CarrieS »

Excerpt from Dr. Bredesen's book, "A single glass of wine a few nights per week is fine for most people. You don't want to get to the point where the alcohol is affecting your memory, for obvious reasons, and one of the problems with wine is that it affects your insulin the way sugar does, so keeping it to a minimum is a good idea. For similar reasons, it's helpful to minimize other alcoholic drinks."

In his book "Memory Rescue", Dr. Daniel Amen would prefer that people do not drink (for various reasons) but writes "If you want a better brain, less is more. For people who want to drink, I recommend no more than two to four servings a week."

Some people have chosen to completely give up alcohol and others have chosen to enjoy it it moderation. If you are tracking your glucose, it might be interesting to see how the dry red wine affects your personal chemistry.
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Orangeblossom
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by Orangeblossom »

There's also some more in the Wike section on alcohol and E4 too. It's a tricky one, I like a glass of red as well, and we are off to France soon to rub salt into the wound. I've tried de-alcoholised red wine but it tastes like red grape juice. I am presently compromising by having a small glass now and then with a meal, say on Saturdays. It may well be better to stop, but for me this is OK at present and I feel a bit easier than every day.
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TheresaB
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by TheresaB »

As already cited in Dr Bredesen's book, a single glass of wine a few nights a week is okay.

Dr Gundry recommends the same - RED wine, one glass.

But it also might depend on other things going on in your body. My doctor, Dr Gundry also tests for fructosamine in addition to glucose, HbA1c, insulin. Wine can raise a person's fructosamine level, and fructose can be damaging to the body. My fructosamine level tests well, so I have a glass of red wine, but I also eat virtually no other fruit and maintain a low carb diet.
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bikerman
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by bikerman »

Thanks everyone for your comments. This is an exerpt from Harvard Health:

"Alcohol
There is some evidence that moderate consumption of alcohol reduces the risk for cognitive decline and dementia. A study in JAMA, for example, found that people over age 65 who drank up to one alcoholic beverage a day had about half the risk as nondrinkers over five to seven years. Another study reported that resveratrol, a compound in red wine, broke down beta-amyloid (abnormal deposits of protein associated with Alzheimer's disease) in laboratory experiments, suggesting that red wine in particular may be protective, but further study is needed. In the meantime, experts do not recommend drinking alcohol to fend off Alzheimer's disease.
However, experts do not recommend drinking alcohol to prevent cognitive decline. If you enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage, you should limit your consumption to no more than two drinks a day if you are a man or one drink if you are a woman.
In the JAMA study, heavy drinkers — defined as more than four drinks per day or 14 per week for men and more than three drinks per day or seven per week for women — had a 22% higher Alzheimer's risk than the nondrinkers."
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by circular »

I'm not at all versed in this area since the most I drink is about an once every year or two, but my understanding is that the issue is with apoe4 interaction with alcohol, which I'm guessing the JAMA study didn't look at? It would be interesting to know how much of a protective effect of a low alcohol intake has to do with reducing anxiety as opposed to being attributable to the alcohol or wine itself.
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by Robinh »

Orangeblossom wrote:we are off to France soon to rub salt into the wound.
I feel your pain. I'm in Paris for two months. Even much of the cheap wine is good, and whereas I can forego saturated fats in California with no problem, the saturated fats in Paris present a whole other level of temptation. Besides being delicious, they're often very natural, artisanal, local, highly nutritious, etc...
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PretzelViking
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by PretzelViking »

Dr. Bredesen did state in his book that resveritrol in red wine is helpful, in small amounts.
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by NF52 »

Robinh wrote: I'm in Paris for two months. Even much of the cheap wine is good, and whereas I can forego saturated fats in California with no problem, the saturated fats in Paris present a whole other level of temptation. Besides being delicious, they're often very natural, artisanal, local, highly nutritious, etc...
Hi Robin,

If you need someone else who's been where you are, (literally and figuratively), here's a post from Stavia, author of the PRIMER
Stavia wrote: Darling I am in Portugal and Spain for a month and eating pasteis de nata (custard pies) three times a day. And I fell off the wagon about 2 months ago. Don't stress.
We can climb back on again.
Consider this a chance to let your orthorexic self also take a vacation!
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Re: Is Red Wine OK?

Post by Lucy5 »

Amen to that! As more than one researcher has said to me, we humans - including those of us with E4 - are resilient enough to withstand eating forbidden foods when the occasion arises. Célébrer la vie! And have a fabulous trip, Robin!
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