Education is the key word to learn how and how much wine to drink in order not to cause harm to our bodies and enjoy a good glass of wine, we talk about it with Giorgio Calabrese.
Wine consumption in addition to being conscious must be moderate and adapted to the physical characteristics and diet of each individual to “keep the doctor away.”
These are the suggestions that emerge from our chat with Professor Giorgio Calabrese, renowned nutritionist and chairman of the Ministry of Health’s National Food Safety Committee. We questioned him to clear the air on a very broad, ever-present and contradictory topic such as “wine and health”.
We talk too often about wine abuse and not hard liquor, the topic has come back to the forefront because of the changes imposed by the new regulations in the Highway Code which set it a 0.5 g/l.
The scenario is equally complex, registering so many changes (we mention only a few), from reduced per-capita consumption, rising tariffs, climate change, grubbing up vineyards to reduce grape production, and the new fashion for dealcolated wines.
What is the right choice? In addition to using the common sense, always choose to drink a good wine, sharing then enhances conviviality, and let’s not forget that wine is also history and culture.
Prof. Calabrese we are curious if you like wine, which one and when do you drink it?
I am not a big drinker and prefer young wines and especially sparkling wines.
Wine and health, the topic is much debated. A well-known saying goes, “a glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away.” Is this true?
For males even two glasses while one glass for women for enzymatic reasons, but one must always know how to be moderate because wine which is a liquid food is not a drug and therefore must be commensurate with who we are and what we eat. Exceeding these above-described doses can create an induction to hepatic steatosis, which often happens in young people whose liver is not yet enzymatically mature.
Young people and alcohol. She advises against young people drinking alcohol; they don’t have the right maturity and their bodies are not yet ready to metabolize it. What happens to their bodies?
If the enzymes that break down alcohol and acetaldehyde are not optimal, alcohol creates problems in the liver and brain so it is right to get medical advice on when, how much and how you can take alcohol.
One despises wine for alcohol but not super alcohol. Why?
For commercial reasons: Northern Europe produces only hard liquor and thus wages war on Southern European countries that obfuscate their sales.
The World Health Organization is engaged in a “culture” war against alcohol in general and wine in particular. As chairman of the National Technical Committee on Food Safety, how do you react to this operation of demonizing wine?
I think it is right to make the right assessments starting from the fact that the dose of alcohol in wine often does not exceed 12° and therefore when combined with food improves digestion. L’abuse instead creates harm but the abuse of extra virgin olive oil can also do harm, yet it is a healthful and valuable product. Then no one addresses beer and low-alcohol drinks that are drunk instead of water to quench thirst and instead create harm.
Accusations of wine also come from Dr. Antonella Viola. She argues that there is no level of alcohol consumption that is not at risk and that even moderate alcohol consumption damages the brain and increases the risk of cancer. What does she answer?
You think we drink wine, but I think we eat wine, which is a liquid food like oil and milk. We just have to observe the rules And avoid hard liquor.
Is dealcoholic wine, a non-wine, the panacea for all ills?
It is not a panacea, the same commercial technique have used it for sugary drinks that have been made into light. It doesn’t seem to me that the world is healthier.
What do you think is the “recipe” to intervene in the most appropriate way?
Educate in schools and workplaces to pair wine with other solid foods and drink it in moderation.