The Wine Institute of California has decided to make a proposal to the federal government to pass a law ( ‘Heard it’ 70). This law would allow wine producers to add a small section on the label telling their customers about the positive effects of drinking wine. We all have probably heard of the famous saying by the French, who statistically have a very low rate of heart disease, that a glass of red wine a day keeps doctor away. According to a book called The French Paradox, red wine is believed to have a substance that could potentially help fight heart disease (‘Heard it’ 70).

The dangers of excessive alcohol intake are well known, however, intriguing data on possible beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption on the risk of cardiovascular disease continue to accumulate. Statistics show that death by coronary heart disease is more likely to occur among people who choose not to drink. On the other end of the spectrum we see cancer as the biggest threat among heavy drinkers (Gronbaek 292). Scientific evidences even suggest that moderate drinkers seem to have low chance of facing heart problems compared to those wh

Excessive drinking may leads to variety of cancer diseases such as liver and breast cancer as well as some other alcohol-related problems like alcoholism, domestic violence, birth defects, suicides, and accidents - the ability to drive can be impaired by alcohol level as low as 0.02% (‘Heard it’ 71). Women who drink more than two glasses of wine a day have the highest chance of developing breast cancer compare to moderate drinkers and abstainers. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, heavy drinking during pregnancy leads to severe birth defects and other several deformations such as damaged brain, an undersized or deformed body, and a defective heart (‘Heard it’ 71). Scientists further suggest that mothers who decide to breast-feed their child should not consume any alcohol because this will slow the growing process of the baby. “Heavy drinkers are also at risk of malnutrition because alcohol contains empty calories that cannot be substituted for nutrition found in foods” (‘To Drink or Not to Drink’ 117).

Despite all the warnings about negative effects of alcohol, these latest findings of benefits from drinking red wine seems like a good news for a lot of people who have problems related to heart disease. And those who already drink moderately and have no special reasons to quit, can now enjoy the delicious taste of a bottle of 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley more than before knowing that it is also good for the heart as well as for the brain.

Table 1. Food Sources of Red Wine Flavonoids

Some topics in this essay:
Cao Prior, Wine Moderation”2000, Copenhagen Denmark, Journal Medicine, Wales Australia, Oakland California, French Paradox, Drink Drink’, Rotterdam- Netherlands, Public Health, red wine, heart disease, coronary heart disease, coronary heart, moderate drinking, ‘heard it’, cao prior, reduce risk, white wine, it’ 70, wine day, ‘heard it’ 70, disease ‘heard it’, england journal medicine, risk coronary heart,