A Cold Observation about Wine (with recipe)

[Guest guest]

>A Cold Observation about Wine (with recipe)

>Janet Raloff

>http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020518/food.asp

>

>Show this story to your boss, and she might just offer you a glass or

>two of wine. After all, downing this beverage—especially the red

>varieties—appears to help ward off the common cold, according to a new

>study.

>

>Though colds usually aren’t dire, they remain one of the leading causes

>of missed days at work. In the United States alone, some 30 million days

>of sick leave trace to workers suffering from these viral infections—and

>the sneezing, stuffy heads, runny noses, hacking coughs, sore throats,

>and malaise that typically accompany them.

>

>The new study was conducted in Spain, where for 1 year researchers

>followed the respiratory condition of almost 4,300 faculty and staff at

>several universities. The scientists started by surveying the

>participants’ health, their average weekly consumption of alcoholic

>beverages, and a host of other factors that might influence

>susceptibility to colds—such as stress, vitamin intake, smoking, and

>frequent proximity to small children.

>

>Those who initially had a cold or suffered from asthma or some other

>chronic respiratory disease were culled from the study. The remaining

>recruits received follow-up surveys by mail every 10 weeks asking about

>any cold symptoms that persisted 3 or more days. In the May 1 American

>Journal of Epidemiology, Bahi Takkouche of the University of Santiago de

>Compostela, Spain, and his colleagues report that some 1,350 of the

>participants eventually developed at least one cold.

>

>Overall, his group found no correlation between the incidence of these

>infections and the consumption of either beer or spirits. Nor did

>vitamin C or zinc consumption appear to affect cold susceptibility.

>Wine, however, came up as clearly protective.

>

>Compared to teetotalers, men and women who downed an average of more

>than 2 glasses of wine daily had a 40 percent reduction in their risk of

>developing a cold. Among those who downed red wine exclusively, it took

>just 8 to 14 glasses a week to achieve this apparent benefit. But if

>these red aficionados quaffed more, their risk of developing a cold

>dropped to 60 percent below that of people who avoided alcohol, who

>drank beer, or who chose distilled spirits.

>

>Why wine?

>

>The apparent benefit of wine consumption remained even after accounting

>for the individuals’ intake of other alcoholic beverages, whether they

>smoked, and other known risk factors for colds.

>

>The findings were unexpected, observes Miguel A. Hernán of the Harvard

>School of Public Health in Boston, a coauthor of the study. Because

>alcohol tends to suppress immunity, he notes, " our hypothesis was that

>alcohol drinking would make people more likely to become infected with

>the common cold. " Instead, the researchers identified no such risk.

>

>Because the benefit is linked just to wine, the team came to the

>conclusion " that it is not the alcohol in the red wine, but some other

>component, that is protective. So, we started to look at other compounds

>that are mainly in wine—especially red wines, " Hernán told Science News

>Online.

>

>Numerous studies of other illnesses have turned up evidence that wine

>may confer—when taken in moderation—long-term benefits, especially in

>diabetics (SN: 7/24/99, p. 52) and people at risk of heart disease (Red

>wine: Why it's heart-ier than white:

>http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc98/8_22_98/food.htm).

>

>Resveratrol is one chemical prevalent in wines and grape juice that may

>enhance health. Research has demonstrated that it fights processes that

>foster heart disease—and cancer, at least in animals. In their new

>report, the scientists cite work by others indicating that this plant

>compound has strong anti-inflammatory properties. How or why it might

>help the body fight an infection, however, remains a mystery.

>

>Moreover, in a review of wine’s benefits in heart disease, chemist

>Andrew L. Waterhouse of the University of California, Davis Department

>of Viticulture and Enology argues that even if people consume a

>half-liter of wine, " the likelihood that resveratrol from wine would

>have a physiological effect on a wine-drinking population appears to be

>low. "

>

>Flavonoids are more likely to exhibit some notable effect, Waterhouse

>says. Members of this family of chemicals occur in most wines in higher

>quantities than resveratrol and have a host of beneficial attributes—at

>least in test-tube and rodent studies. Indeed, Takkouche’s team points

>to experiments indicating that some flavonoids fight viruses by

>interfering with their DNA synthesis.

>

>Refining the take-home message

>

>The new study falls far short of proving that wine wards off infections.

>But if future research confirms wine’s protection against colds, a

>prophylactic evening glass or two of merlot might prove a special boon

>to the workforce’s busiest bees.

>

>Earlier this year, Takkouche’s group reported that the people who rated

>their lives the most stressful succumbed to twice as many colds as did

>those claiming not to be stressed. People who felt especially upbeat, on

>the other hand, appeared less vulnerable than average. Indeed, this

>positive mental attitude appeared equally protective against colds as

>drinking two glasses of wine daily.

>

>However, Takkouche, who describes himself as " almost a teetotaler, "

>emphasizes that his group’s new findings should not be read as a license

>to overindulge. In fact, he acknowledges, in the beginning, " we were a

>little embarrassed about our results. "

>

>Even if wine proves good for the common cold, intemperate use can fuel

>physical violence and traffic accidents. What’s more, he adds,

> " alcoholism among youngsters has become a real problem. "

>

>While his group concluded that it would be " unethical " not to publish

>their data, " we have also been very concerned about how people will

>interpret the findings, " Takkouche observes.

>

>

>

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>

>

>Núria’s Catalan Sangria

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>In honor of these studies and Spain, where they were conducted, we

>provide a recipe for a summery beverage that may offer a nutritional

>double whammy. It includes wine and fruits rich in vitamins and

>minerals. It was prepared many times for me by Núria Pérez Traver, the

>daughter of a chef in Barcelona, during that happy year she came to the

>United States to share her culture with my young family.

>

>2 liters of red wine (any house red will do)

>1 12-oz. can of frozen lemonade

>8 oz. of pineapple chunks

>2 peaches or nectarine cut into chunks

>2 pears cut into chunks

>2 bananas cut into chunks

>2 large oranges, cut into thin slices

>juice squeezed from two more oranges

>1 lemon cut into thin slices

>cinnamon to taste

>optional garnish: lemon peel

>

>Mix the ingredients together in a large jar or pitcher and let the

>flavors meld at least 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the

>fridge. Serve with a spoon for all those fruity chunks.

>

> " Sangria needs to be served very cold, " Núria emphasizes. And for " a

>touch of glamour, " she says, " put a long thin curl of a lemon’s peel

>into the glass, leaving a little hanging over the top. "

>

>

>

>References:

>

>Takkouche, B., . . . and M.A. Hernán. 2002. Intake of wine, beer, and

>spirits and the risk of clinical common cold. American Journal of

>Epidemiology 155(May 1):853-858. Abstract available at

>http://aje.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/155/9/853.

>

>Takkouche, B., et al. 2002. Intake of vitamin C and zinc and risk of

>common cold: A cohort study. Epidemiology 13(January):38-44. Abstract

>available at

>http://ipsapp003.lwwonline.com/content/getfile/64/55/7/abstract.htm.

>

>Takkouche, B., et al. 2001. A cohort study of stress and the common

>cold. Epidemiology 12(May):345-349. Abstract available at

>http://ipsapp006.lwwonline.com/content/getfile/64/51/15/abstract.htm.

>

>Waterhouse, A.L. 1995. Wine and heart disease. Chemistry & Industry (May

>1):338-341. Available at

>http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/cuttingedge/research/winehealth.htm.