This is the story about how a young doctor learned an amusing lesson from a patient, who would be me.
It happened several years ago, when I went for an annual checkup. My regular doctor was busy, so a young assistant saw me. Before the breathing and the stethoscoping started, we sat together for the usual health-related Q&A. The conversation got interesting when we came to the part about what substances I ingest. It went something like this:
Doctor: Do you take any illegal drugs?
Me: No.
Doctor: Do you drink alcohol?
Me: Yes.
At that point, he stopped writing on his clipboard and looked at me inquisitively.
Me: I like to drink wine with dinner. I guess I picked that up from my father.
Doctor: How is your father?
Me: He’s dead.
Doctor (looking like he was ready to pounce): And how old was he?
Me: Ninety-three.
Realizing there was little to pounce on, the doctor said something akin to, “Oh,” and then proceeded to the remaining questions.
I can’t say whether or not wine contributed to my father’s longevity. But in the years that have followed that medical checkup, there have been a variety of reports about wine’s health benefits, leading me to suspect the young doctor probably doesn’t look so askance any more when a patient admits to wine drinking.
The evidence of wine’s salutary effect continues to mount.

Hippocrates, father of medicine, as envisioned by a Byzantine artist.
The latest report is a review published today of the book “The Red Wine Diet” by scientist Roger Corder, “who insists that drinking red wine regularly is good for just about everything that might ail you, including heart disease, diabetes and dementia.”
A cardiovascular expert and professor of therapeutics at London’s William Harvey Research Institute, Corder doesn’t deny the destructiveness of alcohol abuse. But he extols the value of moderate wine use, drawing on his own research and historical documentation, including writings of the likes of the 5th century B.C. Greek physician Hippocrates, who prescribed wine as an antiseptic and remedy for other ailments.
Corder, according to the report, even recommends specific wines, including: “Malbec Riserva from Altos Las Hormigas in Argentina, Chateau Montaiguillon and especially those French wines made with tannat grapes in Madiran. The best U.S. wines rated are Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Reserve from California and Matthew Cellars Red from Washington state.”
Earlier this month, Britain’s Times Online reported that patients suffering from a rare disease would be among the first to try a new drug based on the “magic ingredient” in red wine.
The chemical “could lead to a whole family of new drugs with powerful effects against the diseases of ageing,” the report said, adding that a version of the chemical is being tried in India for use against diabetes, “and newer versions hundreds of times more powerful are in the pipeline.”
In February, Dutch researchers told the American Heart Association’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention that “drinking a little alcohol every day, especially wine, may be associated with an increase in life expectancy,” according to the meeting reports:
“The researchers found that a light intake of alcohol (on average less than one glass per day) was associated with a lower rate of cardiovascular death and death from all causes. When compared to spirits and beer, consumption of small amounts of wine, about a half a glass a day, was associated with the lowest levels of all-cause and cardiovascular deaths.”
Who knows whether other findings someday will rebut these reports? But for the time being at least, you shouldn’t feel intimidated telling your physician about your fondness for wine. He may even approve.
Hey, Vino, haven’t written in a while. The likely benefits of wine consumption have been been discussed for years. I have a brother-in-law who swears by it and drinks a glass or red a day (unless he’s gotten over that kick). Here’s my question: Wine is grapes, and the same grape, as I understand it, can produce red and white wine (depending on maturity at harvest). So, why don’t whites have the same benefit as reds?
Great question. This Harvard University report, linking wine drinking to reduced prostate cancer, suggests benefits may come from natural antioxidants "abundant in the skins of red (but not white) grapes." But this WebMd report last year indicated that "lighter wines may be just as good for the heart as red." Bottom line: More research needs to be done before we’ll know for sure.
You’re right that reports of wine’s possible health benefits (from moderate drinking, of course) have been around for some years. But as my article points out, evidence of that is mounting — and perhaps with that growing body of research will come a clearer understanding of why or whether there’s a difference between the red and white varieties. Personally, I’m starting to favor whites, but mostly for the taste.
Appreciate the comment!
Shiraz wine considered a red wine. Any health benefits associated directly to Shiraz wine? Thank you
Hi, sorry for being late in getting back to you on this – here’s an interesting piece that mentions Shiraz and health benefits, but finds that variety is not among the ones ranking high in an ingredient that some researchers believe helps produce wine’s health benefits. I’m sure there will be more research.
Let me know what you think?
http://www.foate.com.au/Health.asp?LogNumber=