Page 215 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 215
e and health
Wine is a drink whose main component is alcohol, without which wine would not be
wine. Alcohol can have either harmful or medicinal effects on the human organism – it
all depends on the quantity consumed, just like with any medicine. However, wine is not
just an alcoholic solution, but contains a myriad of other substances which may also have
a positive or negative effect.
The alcohol in wine provides energy and can replace a part of the calories consumed with
food when we are working hard in the open air. The alcohol contained in one litre of wine
supplies about 750 calories. Nowadays, with all the technology we have, there are very
few types of work that demand a great deal of physical energy which could beneficially
be partly replaced with one or two litres of wine a day. American authors advise that only
up to 6 percent of one’s daily caloric needs should be supplied by the alcohol in wine. For
a man this means 0.3 litres of wine with a 9 percent alcohol content. French experts, on
the other hand, allow 20 percent of caloric value to be consumed in the form of wine, i.e.
0.9 litres of wine with a 9 percent alcohol content or 0.75 litres of wine with a 12 percent
alcohol content. Other substances in wine also supply energy.
The effect of alcohol on fats is beneficial as it helps dissolve them. In food, the harmful
substances are lipoproteins, such as the harmful LDL cholesterol, which collects on the
walls of blood vessels, causing them to narrow or even become blocked – i.e. atherosclerosis
or cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis leads to heart attacks, cardiac arrests and strokes.
In order to prevent it, or to at least slow down the process of the narrowing of blood vessels,
it is important to consume healthy food and to adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as plenty of
exercise in the fresh air and the reduction of stress. The tendency for the blood vessels to
narrow may be genetically determined. It is also increased by free radicals, i.e. the products
of metabolism and oxygen, which enter the organism through breathing and oxidise fats.
Free radicals can cause numerous other diseases. Antioxidants, which are obtained from
food, protect against free radicals as they prevent the oxidation processes. So free radicals
and antioxidants must be balanced if we are to preserve our health: if free radicals prevail,
they can cause many health problems with their oxidising power. Moderate consumption
of alcohol has a positive effect: it increases the protective HDL cholesterol and lowers the
LDL cholesterol. Unsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid in oil) lower the LDL cholesterol level
in blood and increase the HDL cholesterol.
211
Wine is a drink whose main component is alcohol, without which wine would not be
wine. Alcohol can have either harmful or medicinal effects on the human organism – it
all depends on the quantity consumed, just like with any medicine. However, wine is not
just an alcoholic solution, but contains a myriad of other substances which may also have
a positive or negative effect.
The alcohol in wine provides energy and can replace a part of the calories consumed with
food when we are working hard in the open air. The alcohol contained in one litre of wine
supplies about 750 calories. Nowadays, with all the technology we have, there are very
few types of work that demand a great deal of physical energy which could beneficially
be partly replaced with one or two litres of wine a day. American authors advise that only
up to 6 percent of one’s daily caloric needs should be supplied by the alcohol in wine. For
a man this means 0.3 litres of wine with a 9 percent alcohol content. French experts, on
the other hand, allow 20 percent of caloric value to be consumed in the form of wine, i.e.
0.9 litres of wine with a 9 percent alcohol content or 0.75 litres of wine with a 12 percent
alcohol content. Other substances in wine also supply energy.
The effect of alcohol on fats is beneficial as it helps dissolve them. In food, the harmful
substances are lipoproteins, such as the harmful LDL cholesterol, which collects on the
walls of blood vessels, causing them to narrow or even become blocked – i.e. atherosclerosis
or cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis leads to heart attacks, cardiac arrests and strokes.
In order to prevent it, or to at least slow down the process of the narrowing of blood vessels,
it is important to consume healthy food and to adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as plenty of
exercise in the fresh air and the reduction of stress. The tendency for the blood vessels to
narrow may be genetically determined. It is also increased by free radicals, i.e. the products
of metabolism and oxygen, which enter the organism through breathing and oxidise fats.
Free radicals can cause numerous other diseases. Antioxidants, which are obtained from
food, protect against free radicals as they prevent the oxidation processes. So free radicals
and antioxidants must be balanced if we are to preserve our health: if free radicals prevail,
they can cause many health problems with their oxidising power. Moderate consumption
of alcohol has a positive effect: it increases the protective HDL cholesterol and lowers the
LDL cholesterol. Unsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid in oil) lower the LDL cholesterol level
in blood and increase the HDL cholesterol.
211
