Wine and health

Negative effects

Wine has many negative effects on health. In particular, ethanol present in wine can cause several adverse effects: in the brain, it alters neuronal survival and maintenance of brain connections;  in the digestive system, it increases the risk of cancers of the mouth and upper respiratory tract, cancer of the esophagus and colon cancer, it also increases the risk of breast cancer, other cancers and causes liver cirrhosis;

Moreover, it represents an aggravating factor in angina pectoris and myocardial infarction.  Also in wine there are traces of methyl alcohol. This is a powerful neurotoxin. They are always at doses ranging from 35 to 350 mg per liter. It comes from the hydrolysis of pectins grapes during fermentation.

Like any alcohol, wine may have adverse effects on the health of people with a high rate of triglyceride (hypertriglyceridemia).  Wine is an alcoholic beverage that can lead to alcoholism.
Positive effects
Wine also contains substances that have a beneficial effect with polyphenols. Of these, resveratrol has been the subject of numerous studies showing potential beneficial effects for many diseases. Paradoxically, wine protects against cancer, have a neuroprotective effect and slow cellular aging.

Finally, it improves the health and survival of mice following a diet low in calories.  Several research groups have further discussed the effect of resveratrol increasing life expectancy, and some companies have already begun its commercialisation.  More generally scientific work has shown that mortality from cardiovascular damage was relatively lower among the French, the main consumers of wine in the world, compared to other industrialized countries. This is one component of the French paradox.
However, critics warn, the beneficial effect of moderate consumption of wine and alcohol in general, advanced by several studies, and may stem from a methodological error that consists in arranging former alcoholics that have become sober in the category of abstainers. Studies that do not make this error do not find a positive effect of moderate consumption of alcohol on cancer or other diseases.  Instead even moderate consumption of alcohol is a risk factor for many cancers.