skins are used to make red wine, but not white), grapes, and thou-
sands of medicinal plants from South America and China, not only
interferes with cancer ’s development, but may also cause precancer-
ous cells to reverse to normal. Resveratrol also has anti-inflammatory
properties.
Most wine contains about 12 percent alcohol (mostly ethanol, with
only a very small percentage of other types of alcohol). Sweet dessert
wines may contain up to 20 percent alcohol. This compares to 40 per-
cent (80 proof) and 50 percent (100 proof) alcohol in distilled products
such as vodka and gin. Wine also contains vitamins B1, B2, B6 and
niacin, as well as traces of most minerals, including iron. Most red table
wine contains iron in the easily usable ferrous form. The pH of wine is
low, like that of the stomach; perhaps one reason wine improves
appetite and digestion. Eating natural fats with wine slows the absorp-
tion of alcohol and protects the intestine from possible irritation.
Once in the blood, alcohol is broken down in the liver. About 3.5
ounces of pure alcohol can be safely metabolized by the body if
spread out over the day. This translates to about a bottle of wine —
not something I’m recommending. To a European, this may not seem
like excess, but to an American it might. In the United States, the aver-
age annual per-capita consumption of wine is just a few teaspoons,
while in Italy, it’s about a half bottle.
As a group, women are more susceptible to negative effects of
alcohol because of their smaller size, and because they have less
amount of alcohol dehydrogenase in their stomachs and livers. This
enzyme breaks down much of the alcohol before it’s absorbed, and in
the blood.
If you enjoy wine and want the health benefits associated with it,
drink only what you enjoy and can tolerate, and no more than one or
two glasses. The simplest recommendation is a 4-ounce glass or two
with meals. For most people a glass of wine will be completely metab-
olized in about an hour and a half. Some people, however, should
never consume alcohol. But a moderate amount for those who can,
and want to, is now considered to be 4 to 8 ounces of wine per day.
An obvious side effect of alcohol is that it impairs your senses, so
it should be avoided within four hours of driving a vehicle. One drink
increases the risk of an accident by 50 percent, two drinks by 100 per-
168 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH