Is wine healthier than grape juice?

madhav175 · Nov 5th, 2009, 20:30

This forum is the closest i have found to make my question sound relevant.

Is red wine/white wine healthier than grape juice?

I recently had red wine on two different occasions with my friends and i liked it.I want to have it when my parents are there and i even want my parents to try it as it is good for health. My father being a diabetic, could be good for his heart.In many Indian families like ours wine is not consumed at all. When the topic of wine had come up in the discussion with my parents i was trying to explain them the health benefits of red wine such as being good for the heart etc but then my parents argued that someone can instead have grape juice for which i did not have a convincing answer. Now i am myself confused about wine being better than grape juice when it comes to health benefits. My aunt from the U.S.A tells me that they have wine at least thrice in a week because it is healthy, she even tells me that her doctor in the U.S.A had advised her to have red wine daily during pregnancy which makes me think that it is better than grape juice. So finally the question again

Is red/white wine healthier than grape juice?

I have looked for information about this on the net but i have found conflicting answers. Can anyone give me some information regarding this.

Mod note : thread moved to chai and chat

Nick-H · Nov 5th, 2009, 21:27

Not that I think this is at all appropriate to this forum, and the mods may well remove the thread but...

What makes a drug acceptable? What makes it legal? What makes it considered harmful or harmless?

Leaving the law entirely out of the question, you, as an adult, must make your own personal decision as to what drugs you take.

What you must realise, and I find an attitude among a lot of Indians that I know that wine is, somehow different, is that wine is the same alcohol as beer, as brandy, as vodka. It is the same stuff. Do not believe anyone that says it isn't, and do not believe that any sort of hifi associations of wine around the upper-class dinner table make it any different to the alcohol being drunk at the street wine bars. It is the same stuff.

As for health, I can paraphrase an eminent Indian doctor and heart surgeon from a lecture I attended. He said that everything in wine that is good for your heart can be found in red grape juice. He said that alcohol is a poison, and can never be said to be good for health. He said that the reason that wine-drinking countries such as France have less heart disease is because their livers fail first!

Drink if you want. I don't, as a matter of course, but I reserve the right to, should I feel like it, so I don't call myself teetotal.

Two of the most harmful drugs, alcohol and tobacco, are both legal.

It's your body: your decision. Just don't, please, try to get others to drink "because it is healthy".

1. It isn't.

2. The only reason and purpose of drinking alcohol is to get intoxicated (mildly or otherwise, is up to you). Not everyone wants to, nor does it suit everybody. It is their choice too.

Sama · Nov 5th, 2009, 21:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

The only reason and purpose of drinking alcohol is to get intoxicated

not everyone drinks to get drunk!

nycank · Nov 5th, 2009, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by madhav175

My aunt from the U.S.A tells me that they have wine at least thrice in a week because it is healthy, she even tells me that her doctor in the U.S.A had advised her to have red wine daily during pregnancy

Good Lord !!!!! This is the first I have heard of....

RWeHavingFunYet · Nov 5th, 2009, 21:52

.
.
.
.
.
The wine industry has a powerful worldwide lobby and they pay doctors for study/research and come up with the good benefits of wine drinking.

Also, the red/purple grapejuice lobby capitalized on the wine industry findings and their study has shown that it’s the components of the grape, rather than alcohol, that produces this beneficial effect for the heart.

But, I agree with Dr. Nick-H 100%

Nick-H · Nov 5th, 2009, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sama

not everyone drinks to get drunk!

That's why I said "mildly or otherwise". Everybody drinks to be affected by alcohol --- if not, then why are they wasting their money?

Boston123 · Nov 5th, 2009, 23:54

Yes, all forms of alcohol( wine,beer,whiskey,rice wine..) have the same alcohol that impairs you( however slightly)... Ethanol(ethyl alcohol). It's just the percentage of ethanol that varies( e.g. 3-5% in beer, 8% in wine etc..). If by mistake you consume methanol, then you have totally different problems( blindness etc.)!

Even better than grape juice, try a blend of cranberry and grape juice, or pomegrenate( anaar) and grape juice. These fruits have tremendous amounts of anti-oxidants..and supplement grapes very well.

PeakXV · Nov 5th, 2009, 23:55

Even the most orthodox tea totallers ingest trace amounts of hootch through fermented fruits, naturally occuring sugar alcohol etc..

Anyhoot my greater concern - nowadays - are all about the additives, preservatives mixed & potential contaminations that happen in the fruit to bottling(plasticing in some cases) process. Hard to regulate, monitor this really especially in mass productions. The alcoholic content, to responsible drinkers, pales in comparison to this unknown.

Nick-H · Nov 6th, 2009, 00:28

Does that inspire you to make your own?

Or have you just given up?

PeakXV · Nov 6th, 2009, 00:38

I grow my own berries, apples & press my own cider. Ocassionally some of that cider, accidently on purpose gets fermented.

Apart from that I try to discern/read packaging/packaging labels & select for the best results to my health.

wonderwomanusa · Nov 6th, 2009, 13:05

Alcohol is not the best thing for diabetics; it can lead to LOW blood sugar. However, there is some research being done about some of the qualities of grapes; have a look HERE.

Uncle_Martin · Nov 6th, 2009, 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWeHavingFunYet

.

The wine industry has a powerful worldwide lobby and they pay doctors for study/research and come up with the good benefits of wine drinking.

Also, the red/purple grapejuice lobby capitalized on the wine industry findings and their study has shown that it’s the components of the grape, rather than alcohol, that produces this beneficial effect for the heart.

My Cardiologist, and some of my medical friends, do say that there may be something in the grape juice which can also be present in wine which might have a marginal but still measurable benefit for those with a heart condition. The evidence is not quite conclusive. What they do say is that a moderate consumption of alcohol, of approximately 2 standard units per day for six days a week, does give a medical benefit for "middle aged men with a pre-existing heart condition." Exceed this quantity or ignore the qualification and what one gains on the swings is more than lost on the roundabouts.

Whilst drinking wine or alcoholic beverages may be more fun than grape juice, it is not a prophylaxis.

Remember the caution of the founders of the 'Yates Wine Lodges' in Victorian England ... moderation is the true temperence.

Nevertheless there is also a saying which indicated that the path to wisdom may run through the countryside of excess ...

So, as with most things, "yo'w pays yer money and makes yer choice"

trooooon · Nov 6th, 2009, 20:06

Who ever drank wine because it was healthy anyway . . . or grape juice for that matter . . . one thing I can vouch for is that wine can get you really drunk

Nick-H · Nov 6th, 2009, 21:02

What is a standard unit? a wine glass? I would just hate to drink that much! However, I guess that, for millions, it is the barely-noticeable accompaniment to a meal.

For me, it's no thanks, but pass the kava kava!

.

madhav175 · Nov 6th, 2009, 23:17

i found this article on Wikipedia which supports what nick has told about the association of low heart disease rate with the french. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox

Nov 5th, 2009, 20:30	#1
madhav175 Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: HYDERABAD, INDIA Posts: 50	Is wine healthier than grape juice? This forum is the closest i have found to make my question sound relevant. Is red wine/white wine healthier than grape juice? I recently had red wine on two different occasions with my friends and i liked it.I want to have it when my parents are there and i even want my parents to try it as it is good for health. My father being a diabetic, could be good for his heart.In many Indian families like ours wine is not consumed at all. When the topic of wine had come up in the discussion with my parents i was trying to explain them the health benefits of red wine such as being good for the heart etc but then my parents argued that someone can instead have grape juice for which i did not have a convincing answer. Now i am myself confused about wine being better than grape juice when it comes to health benefits. My aunt from the U.S.A tells me that they have wine at least thrice in a week because it is healthy, she even tells me that her doctor in the U.S.A had advised her to have red wine daily during pregnancy which makes me think that it is better than grape juice. So finally the question again Is red/white wine healthier than grape juice? I have looked for information about this on the net but i have found conflicting answers. Can anyone give me some information regarding this. Mod note : thread moved to chai and chat Last edited by nayan : Nov 5th, 2009 at 22:11.

Nov 5th, 2009, 23:55	#8
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 5,876	Even the most orthodox tea totallers ingest trace amounts of hootch through fermented fruits, naturally occuring sugar alcohol etc.. Anyhoot my greater concern - nowadays - are all about the additives, preservatives mixed & potential contaminations that happen in the fruit to bottling(plasticing in some cases) process. Hard to regulate, monitor this really especially in mass productions. The alcoholic content, to responsible drinkers, pales in comparison to this unknown. __________________ What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Nov 6th, 2009, 13:05	#11
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 4,261	Alcohol is not the best thing for diabetics; it can lead to LOW blood sugar. However, there is some research being done about some of the qualities of grapes; have a look HERE. __________________ The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

Nov 6th, 2009, 20:06	#13
trooooon tj Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Vasant Kunj, New Delhi Posts: 842	Who ever drank wine because it was healthy anyway . . . or grape juice for that matter . . . one thing I can vouch for is that wine can get you really drunk __________________ what if . . . maybe . . . say . . . suppose!

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Nov 5th, 2009, 21:27	#2
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,173	Not that I think this is at all appropriate to this forum, and the mods may well remove the thread but... What makes a drug acceptable? What makes it legal? What makes it considered harmful or harmless? Leaving the law entirely out of the question, you, as an adult, must make your own personal decision as to what drugs you take. What you must realise, and I find an attitude among a lot of Indians that I know that wine is, somehow different, is that wine is the same alcohol as beer, as brandy, as vodka. It is the same stuff. Do not believe anyone that says it isn't, and do not believe that any sort of hifi associations of wine around the upper-class dinner table make it any different to the alcohol being drunk at the street wine bars. It is the same stuff. As for health, I can paraphrase an eminent Indian doctor and heart surgeon from a lecture I attended. He said that everything in wine that is good for your heart can be found in red grape juice. He said that alcohol is a poison, and can never be said to be good for health. He said that the reason that wine-drinking countries such as France have less heart disease is because their livers fail first! Drink if you want. I don't, as a matter of course, but I reserve the right to, should I feel like it, so I don't call myself teetotal. Two of the most harmful drugs, alcohol and tobacco, are both legal. It's your body: your decision. Just don't, please, try to get others to drink "because it is healthy". 1. It isn't. 2. The only reason and purpose of drinking alcohol is to get intoxicated (mildly or otherwise, is up to you). Not everyone wants to, nor does it suit everybody. It is their choice too.

Nov 5th, 2009, 21:52	#5
RWeHavingFunYet .. . . . N . o . r . i . k . o . . . .. Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: 17°25'N, 78°31'E Posts: 233	. . . . . The wine industry has a powerful worldwide lobby and they pay doctors for study/research and come up with the good benefits of wine drinking. Also, the red/purple grapejuice lobby capitalized on the wine industry findings and their study has shown that it’s the components of the grape, rather than alcohol, that produces this beneficial effect for the heart. But, I agree with Dr. Nick-H 100%

Nov 5th, 2009, 23:54	#7
Boston123 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: boston Posts: 242	Yes, all forms of alcohol( wine,beer,whiskey,rice wine..) have the same alcohol that impairs you( however slightly)... Ethanol(ethyl alcohol). It's just the percentage of ethanol that varies( e.g. 3-5% in beer, 8% in wine etc..). If by mistake you consume methanol, then you have totally different problems( blindness etc.)! Even better than grape juice, try a blend of cranberry and grape juice, or pomegrenate( anaar) and grape juice. These fruits have tremendous amounts of anti-oxidants..and supplement grapes very well.

Nov 6th, 2009, 00:28	#9
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,173	Does that inspire you to make your own? Or have you just given up?

Nov 6th, 2009, 00:38	#10
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 5,876	I grow my own berries, apples & press my own cider. Ocassionally some of that cider, accidently on purpose gets fermented. Apart from that I try to discern/read packaging/packaging labels & select for the best results to my health.

Nov 6th, 2009, 21:02	#14
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,173	What is a standard unit? a wine glass? I would just hate to drink that much! However, I guess that, for millions, it is the barely-noticeable accompaniment to a meal. For me, it's no thanks, but pass the kava kava! .

Nov 6th, 2009, 23:17	#15
madhav175 Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: HYDERABAD, INDIA Posts: 50	i found this article on Wikipedia which supports what nick has told about the association of low heart disease rate with the french. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_paradox

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