Abstract
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, had said: “Wine is a thing wonderfully appropriate to man if, in health as in disease, it is administered with appropriate and just measure according to the individual constitution.” Wine has always accompanied humanity, for religion or for health. Christians and Jews need wine for the liturgy. For Plato, wine was an indispensable element in society and the most important in the symposium. In this second part of the banquet, mixed with water, the wine gave the word. If the French paradox made a lot of ink flow; it was the wine that was originally responsible for it. Many researchers have tried to study alcohol and polyphenols in wine, in order to solve the mystery. Beyond its cardiovascular effects, there are also effects on longevity, metabolism, cancer prevention, and neuroprotection, and the list goes on. The purpose of this work is to make an analysis of the current knowledge on the subject. Indeed, if the paradigm of antioxidants is seductive, it is perhaps by their prooxidant effect that the polyphenols act, by an epigenetic process mediated by nrf2. Wine is a preserve of antioxidants for the winter and it is by this property that the wine acts, in an alcoholic solution. A wine without alcohol is pure heresy. Wine is the elixir that by design, over millennials, has acted as a pharmacopeia that enabled man to heal and prosper on the planet. From Alvise Cornaro to Serge Renaud, nutrition was the key to health and longevity, whether the Cretan or Okinawa diet, it is the small dose of alcohol (wine or sake) that allows the bioavailability of polyphenols. Moderate drinking gives a protection for diseases and a longevity potential. In conclusion, let us drink fewer, but drink better, to live older.
Highlights
The French paradox, a concept described by Serge Renaud, describes the observation that, in France, despite a high consumption of saturated fats, a low cardiovascular mortality rate is described, compared to other “industrialized” countries that consume the same type of food.The explanation of this French paradox consists of a moderate consumption of wine during meals.There is a north-south gradient, with an even lower cardiovascular mortality rate in Toulouse as compared to Lille, where meals are more based on saturated fats and where the favorite drink is beer. the consumption of red wine is decreasing, the eating habits of adults are changing towards a Mediterranean-style meals and wine remains a social link
It would be necessary to follow a policy of educating young people so that they turn to wine, rather than a premix or other strong alcohol, to rediscover the pleasure of a reasonable consumption of wine which does not promote addiction
Polyphenols are present in various natural substances, in the form of anthocyanin feruloylquinic acids in coffee, flavonoids in citrus fruit, and in the form of catechins, such as epigallocatechin gallate in green tea, quercetin in apples, onions, and red wine
Summary
The French paradox, a concept described by Serge Renaud, describes the observation that, in France, despite a high consumption of saturated fats, a low cardiovascular mortality rate is described, compared to other “industrialized” countries that consume the same type of food. The explanation of this French paradox consists of a moderate consumption of wine during meals. It is well established that alcohol, in a glass of wine, improves the bioavailability of polyphenols in the food bolus This is the principle of the Cretan diet. Why demonize this product, which has long been one of the only effective products of our former pharmacopoeia?
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