Age Gets Better With Wine, New Science For A Better & Longer Life, 2nd Edition by Richard A. Baxter M.D.
Age Gets Better With Wine starts with an interesting look at consumption of wine through history.
Richard A. Baxter, M.D. searching for keys to longevity with quality, and wanting to separate the scientifically sound wheat from the quackery inspired chaff, surveyed medical literature and eliminated everything that wasn’t rooted in legitimate research to see what remained. Baxter found wine was one of the answers to longevity and healthy living.
Baxter outline the science of aging and the perils of disease and degeneration, and the countering effects of antioxidants. Wine possesses powerful antioxidant qualities.
Vitamin supplements, herbal supplements and natural cures show scant, if any, evidence that they will help you live longer, prevent cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, or measurable improve life quality in any measurable way.
Age Gets Better With Wine holds that wine is a food, and as part of a healthy diet has healthful benefits.
Baxter diplomatically demonstrates a prejudice against information concerning healthful consumption of alcohol. In 1974, presented with evidence of decreased cardiovascular disease among moderate alcohol consumers, the National Institutes of Health demanded censorship of the 25 year Framingham Heart Study.
In the 30 intervening years, numerous studies have consistently confirmed and clarified the Framingham Heart Study results, and expanded the health benefits to conditions beyond originally reported – “the overall risk of death from all causes is significantly lower in moderate drinkers as compared to abstainers and to heavy drinkers.”
When plotted on a graph, the benefits of moderate consumption fit what is known as a “J-shaped curve.” The graph starts with an odds ratio of 1.0 for abstainers, whether looking at cardiovascular disease, or overall mortality, then dips to below 1.0 for moderate consumption before climbing above 1.0 for abusive consumption. Typically, the best health benefit is achieved by the consumption of between 1-3 glasses of wine.
Countries with higher rates of wine consumption had lower mortality rates than countries with lower levels of wine consumption.
While alcohol consumption, generally, created a J-shaped curve when lotting the relative risk of all cause mortality against alcohol consumed, not all alcohol was the same. Wine consumption produced the lowest dips, the greatest measured health benefit, of all alcohol; greater than beer or spirits.
Wine has polyphenols, other alcohols do not. Polyphenols are the aromatic molecules that give wine the nose of bouquet and aroma. Polyphenols are also powerful antioxidants. Most polyphenols are concentrated in the grape skin; since red wines are made red by allowing the crushed skins to ferment with the juice, coloring the juice red, red wines also have higher concentrations of polyphenols.
The antioxidant properties of wine polyphenols lead to enhanced wound healing, anti cancer effects, kidney protection, lowered cataract risk, decreases cardiac risk, and improves cardiac event survival.
The most well known polyphenol is resveratrol. Resveratrol holds great promise in aiding the body fight the effects of age, and it has been isolated and made available, separate from wine, in pill form.
With thousands of prestigious institutions publishing the results of research on the health benefits of wine, there does not exist the same evidence that isolated beneficial compounds can be captured and delivered in pill form with any efficacy.
About resveratrol, Baxter writes, “The benefits of wine aren’t attributable to a single molecule out of the thousands, and out of the context of a meal. An analogous account is the surprising finding that taking vitamin supplements may actually do more harm than good, a consensus view among experts now. It just isn’t the same thing as eating whole foods and drinking real wine.”
Resveratrol seems to be the super polyphenol, fighting aging, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, and even decreases “hot flashes” in menopausal women.
Stressing again the differences between moderate consumption and abuse, and general alcohol consumption and wine consumption, Baxter lists 13 anti cancer properties of wine polyphenols.
A fun fact, for wine drinkers anyway, is that researchers found wine drinkers had a 30 pint higher IQ than beer or spirits drinkers.
Baxter reports there is an emerging consensus that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease may be reduced by up to 80% by regular consumption of a glass or two of red wine with dinner.
Age Gets Better With Wine is an important book, researched and referenced, on the general benefits of healthy drinking;Richard A. Baxter, M.D. has written the definitive book on the specific anti aging properties contained in wine.
Links to buy Age Gets Better With Wine:
http://winehardware.com/agegetsbetterwithwine.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Age-Gets-Better-Wine-2nd/dp/1934259241
DISCLOSURE: I received a sample copy of Age Gets Better With Wine for review from The Wine Appreciation Guild.
January 16, 2010 at 1:55 AM
Thanks for sharing this article.That’s very helpful and interesting.
January 27, 2010 at 7:38 PM
Thank you for the review of Dr. Baxter’s book. I imagine the only people pushing resveratol pills over actual moderate consumption of wine are either scammers or neo-prohibitionists.
January 27, 2010 at 9:26 PM
Thanks, but get out of my head. It is almost like I wrote your comment for you.
January 28, 2010 at 2:56 AM
Thanks for publishing about this. You’ve done a solid job.
January 28, 2010 at 7:59 AM
I enjoy receiving comments, especially from someone with a site dedicated to alcohol and addiction recovery. I am pleased you liked my review of a book dedicated to the health benefits of moderate consumption of alcohol.
January 28, 2010 at 11:29 AM
Good writing. I thank you for posting it. Keep up the good site.
January 29, 2010 at 6:09 PM
Emerson, thank you for your comments, I hope that you keep reading, next week I’ll be writing up a recap of my three days of ZAP. Cheers.
February 7, 2010 at 7:10 PM
Thank you John for a very fair and balanced review of this book. As the publisher, I have a personal interest in the subject of wine and health, beyond making a profit on the book. In addition I am very hot about the FIRST AMENDMENT issues where the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau – the Fed agency that controls wine labeling) is trying to prevent the dissemination of information on the health benefits of wine. A couple of years ago, The Commonwelath Club in San Francisco hosted a symposium called DOCTOR-WINEMAKERS SPEAK OUT ABOUT WINE AND HEALTH. There were 8 prominent medical doctors who also own wineries that shared their thoughts. I could send you a CD of the symposium if you are intersted. Several of them are in Northern California and would be good to interview.
February 7, 2010 at 11:14 PM
Elliott, thanks for the opportunity to review the book. I have received a surprising amount of correspondence after posting this and my entry on wine and pregnancy. My articles have been posted on a number of pregnancy and geriatric health sites. I am by no means an expert in the field, but I do bristle when I see falsehoods about healthy moderate consumption of wine and alcohol spread by neo-prohibitionists who know that wineries are prevented from responding to the falsehoods by the TTB, who took over censorship duties from the BATF. I have so many things to write about, but I know I will be getting around to the intertwined subject of wine consumer health benefits and government censorship of wineries regarding health benefits. I would love a CD copy of the symposium’s discussion. I am sure that the CD and a few follow up interviews could lead to a great article. Thanks again for your support.
February 11, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Am I able to take any medicines while drinking wine?
February 11, 2010 at 3:27 PM
Only because you are a spammer, I encourage you to try mixing medicines and alcohol in large quantity and combination. For every one else who reads and leaves sensible comments, always check with your family physician before mixing and medicines, or medications and alcohol.
February 11, 2010 at 6:34 PM
Do you have to employ a credit card to place the order?
February 11, 2010 at 8:56 PM
Absolutely. just put all applicable credit card info in your next comment and we’ll get that posted in public view on my front page for you. Thanks.