Any Advice or Experiences with Wine as a “Medicine”? 🍷

[Beggar for the Spirit]

Many people seem to enjoy the taste of wine. As for me, I have never really liked any kind of alcohol.  However, if a person is having some stomach problems or gastrointestinal issues, well the Oxford Companion to Wine describes wine as “man’s oldest documented medicine” which we know is in harmony with the Bible.  We also have an article that quoted the book The Origins and Ancient History of Wine which reported: “It has been shown experimentally that living typhoid and other dangerous microbes rapidly die when mixed with wine.”

 

So the purpose of this topic is to ask:

• Has anyone had any experience with wine helping their stomach issues?
• Which wines might be the best “medicine”?
• And is it best to drink wine before or during or after eating a meal? 

Looking forward to your comments, thanks 🍷 

 

Edited Friday at 06:11 AM by Beggar for the Spirit

[Amygdala]

Hello dear brother Neil, that is definitely an interesting question. I am not a wine expert, as I also rarely drink and feel similarly with certain wines, but I can perhaps just share with you a brief word of caution. Wine maybe good for perhaps akute infections, such as bacterial (typhoid) or perhaps even viral or parasitic infections as you described above. But for anyone suffering for a  time with some kind of stomach condition on a chronically ill basis, wine would be contraindicated. Why is that? Wine would increase acid production in the stomach. So if someone suffers with stomach ulcers, acid reflex, gastritis, takes medication, has divertikels, morbus crohn, colitus, or some kind of stomach mucous inflammation, alcohol of any kind could make those conditions worse. Alcohol is acidy, contains histamine, and will increase stomach acid production, so has contraindication effects. 

 

If you are suffering from stomach issues, best is to seek out a doctor and get tested for any infections, and if none, then to get to the underlying reason for it. Even sometimes healthy people can develop a problem with FODMAP, and need to avoid certain foods for a time, but then can resume after the stomach settles again. If you are living in the US, perhaps a functional doctor can help with diagnosis, and an experienced naturopath can assist with natural remedies. Get better soon. 

[cme]

I understand its a "particular" wine. 

[Dages]

About stomach issue you may want to test Kefir (not a wine) as a drink (not yogurt).

 

It has helped me very well with some issue (acid/reflux).

This isn't really a medicine, it's just natural stuff. You can make your own quite easily.

 

 

[Ivar]

For most of human history, drinking water was of poor quality. The alcohol in wine destroyed germs. So for that time and age, it was a good idea to rather drink some wine instead of water if you often experienced health issues, like Timothy. (Compared to nowadays, the wine was more diluted.)

[computerwiz]

8 hours ago, Beggar for the Spirit said:

Has anyone had any experience with wine helping their stomach issues?

 

Nope....I've had the opposite experience though.

 

8 hours ago, Beggar for the Spirit said:

Which wines might be the best “medicine”?

 

Just my opinion, but probably "none".

 

It is my understanding that the % of alcohol we have in today's beers & wines are higher than previously.  And if it isn't high in alcohol, it's high in sugar.  Therefore, more skewed towards the harmful side of things, rather than medicinal.

 

 

8 hours ago, Beggar for the Spirit said:

And is it best to drink wine before or during or after eating a meal?

 

I would say during, purely for the anti-microbial effects (if any) and so you end up eating less.  Drinking before could make you hungrier.  And drinking afterwards could make you fuller than comfortable.

[Hope]

My purely anecdotal experience is that wine/alcohol can help calm a nervous stomach. It does mine, at least. I don't know about genuine illnesses.

 

It can also pair very nicely with certain foods to enhance the flavors of each. It's a comfy feeling to have a nice pinot noir with a delicious steak or hearty pasta supper. 🍷 

[Pionner_who]

https://g1.globo.com/saude/noticia/2023/02/15/faz-bem-tomar-vinho-entenda-como-a-bebida-pode-ajudar-as-bacterias-do-bem-que-temos-no-intestino.ghtml

 

The article is in Portuguese, but it states that wine is good for the gut microbiota.

 

A study by the Heart Institute (InCor) of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), shows that moderate consumption of red wine helps regulate the gut microbiota, a group of trillions of bacteria living in the intestine.

 

The microbiota is directly associated with diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, fat accumulation in the liver, and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, its quality may be one of the factors that help prevent health problems.

 

In an interview with g1, the two cardiologists responsible for the study, Elisa Haas and Protásio Lemos, stated that the biggest discovery is that the microbiota can benefit from changes in the consumption of foods and beverages.

 

To better understand, it’s necessary to think of the microbiota as an ecosystem. In nature, diverse ecosystems are healthier. The doctor uses a metaphor and explains that just as the environment has suffered from destruction, it is believed that the human body is also going through a process of “impoverishment” of our “internal forest.”

 

The microbiota is acquired during birth (vaginal or C-section), and several factors influence its development over the years.

 

People who live in rural areas have a more diverse microbiota than those who live in cities. Likewise, people who have dogs also show greater diversity than those who do not.

 

 

250 ml of wine and improvement in the microbiota

 

Researchers chose red wine because it has a higher content of polyphenols, which can have a beneficial impact on several mechanisms of the human body.

 

More details about the study:

 

Conducted with a group of 42 male volunteers over the age of 60;

 

Volunteers had a history of heart disease (heart attack, catheterization, bypass surgery, carotid disease, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke);

 

For the study, each participant drank 250 ml of red wine daily for 5 days a week, over a period of 3 weeks;

 

They later went through an equal period of alcohol abstinence, both phases preceded by a two-week controlled diet;

 

The break served to compare biological analyses of participants before, during, and after consuming the beverage.

 

 

The result, explains cardiologist and co-author of the study Elisa Haas, showed improvement in the gut microbiota and changes in the blood related to better energy metabolism and antioxidant activity.

 

Protásio Lemos, senior cardiologist and researcher at InCor, emphasizes that the polyphenols in red wine have important effects on circulation.

“One of them is that they act as arterial vasodilators. This is very important because blood circulation heavily depends on arterial wall motility. They also naturally help prevent hemorrhage and have antioxidant properties,” he says.

 

Published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the “WineFlora Study” included specialists from Harvard Medical School (USA), the University of Verona (Italy), the Austrian Institute of Technology, the University of Campinas (Unicamp), the University of São Paulo, and the University of Brasília.

 

Improvements in the gut microbiota

 

“Red wine has a much higher content of polyphenols, a category of substances found in various foods. These compounds are produced by plants and fruits as protection against aggression, and for this reason they are believed to have beneficial effects when ingested,” says Elisa.

 

Because polyphenols are not absorbed by the digestive tract (stomach), they reach the intestine in a more intact form, functioning similarly to fiber.

 

This leads researchers to believe that they may act similarly to probiotics, which help balance the bacteria in the intestine.

 

 

Microbiota and immunity

 

The immune system is much stronger around the intestines, and during human development it is known that the microbiota “trains” the immune system, which in turn communicates with the central nervous system.

 

In other words, the hypothesis is that a healthy microbiota helps train the immune system to recognize and tolerate pathogens throughout life.

 

Western diets generally contain very little fiber, which is one of the most harmful factors for the gut microbiota.

— Elisa Haas, cardiologist and InCor researcher

 

Polyphenols

 

To maintain microbiota regulation, it’s necessary to follow a diet rich in polyphenols, which can also be found in vegetables and fruits, especially dark-colored ones like plums.

 

To treat patients who use antibiotics long-term, medications to restore the gut flora are also used; otherwise, problems can arise.

— Protásio Lemos, senior cardiologist and researcher at InCor

 

To maintain the benefits of wine — an alcoholic beverage — it is necessary to keep consumption within a maximum of 30 grams of alcohol per day.

 

For comparison, each standard drink has 12.5 grams of alcohol. Lemos explains that drinking two glasses of wine results in a quantity of alcohol below the recommended maximum. This is consistent with studies showing that possible benefits occur at low to moderate doses.

 

“When intake exceeds that, the incidence of cancer and mortality from accidents increases,” he concludes.