Food And Wine Issue

Every Fall Season brings many events to celebrate the changing of the seasons with our neighbors. There are numerous music, craft, and art festivals planned in neighborhoods all throughout Georgia, including ones for food and fine wine.

There is good news to all the wine lovers out there. Over the past decade, there have been numerous studies published in reputable academic journals that tout the health benefits of wine, especially red wine.

Moderate wine drinkers, defined as 1 glass daily for women and 2 glasses for men, have a 34 percent reduction in mortality compared to beer and spirits drinkers as reported by a Finnish study published in the Journal of Gerontology. This suggests that it is not simply the alcohol content of wine that extends the health benefits, but rather there was something unique to red wines that provided the benefit. Red wines contain a compound called resveratrol and other antioxidants that protect against heart disease. The grapes used to produce red wines sourced in the Mediterranean and southwest France appear to have more potent antioxidants than wine produced elsewhere. That glass of cabernet sauvignon is now associated with a reduction in your risk for colon cancer, cataracts, and cognitive decline.

If you consume your wine with a cheese pairing, you may be doing even more for your health and waistline than you ever imagined. Many people associate cheese with cakes, breads, and other diet-busting foods. However, cheese (cheesecake does NOT apply) also contains a very healthy compound called butyrate that helps to boost metabolism and encourage the growth of good bacteria in your gut. Additionally, the high calcium and protein content of cheese helps to preserve your bone health especially in the aging populations that are frequently diagnosed with osteoporosis.

With that said, we want to remind you that the health benefits of red wine consumption only applies to “moderate” consumption. Over-consumption of any kind of alcohol is associated with increased risk of addiction, hypertension, cirrhosis, stroke, and depression. So, drink in moderation and eat with your nutritional needs in mind.