Alcohol and the Mediterranean Diet

Alcohol consumption is controversial. No one disputes that excess alcohol consumption leads to dire consequences. But what about moderate alcohol consumption? Can we define moderate alcohol consumption? Is there a safe and therapeutic level of alcohol consumption?

Alcohol is a component of the Mediterranean Diet. However, the consumption is limited to 10 ounces of red wine for men, which translates to 14 grams of alcohol. Half that amount for women. In a number of articles, this amount of alcohol is beneficial.

Bias from Authors

Confirmation bias is ingrained in all humans. Treatment programs for alcohol addiction teach that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. Fundamentalist Christians, Muslims and other organized religions have taboos regarding alcohol consumption. Finally, consumers of alcohol will be bias against abstinence.

Components of Wine

In their article, Wine, Polypenols and Mediterranean Diet, the authors note that one can get polyphenols from other sources in the diet, and thus the alcohol may be unnecessary. They conclude that moderate consumption is likely an important component of a mechanistic as well as social norm.

Dose Dependent Effects of Polyphenols on the Body

Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease
Dose dependent reduction of LDL-C
Increase HDL-C and decrease triglycerides in patients with diabetes
Reduction of Blood Pressure
Increase production of nitric oxide (NO) which increases blood flow and reduces blood pressure
Improve LDL/HDL ratio
Resveratrol inhibition of pro-inflammatory agents
lower risk of type 2 diabetes
Resveratrol improves glucose homeostasis
Modulate gut microbiota
Improvement in blood vessel wall function (endothelial function)
Reduction of drugs in diabetic patients

Mechanistic vs Holistic

The issue with the Mediterranean Diet is always those who approach from a mechanistic view, versus those who approach nutrition and lifestyle from a holistic view. The original data from the Mediterranean Diet came from the Seven Countries Study. This was a holistic examination, not only at their diet, but also their lifestyle.

Alcohol Toxicity is in the Dose

A bit of wine is good, a lot of wine is not.

If you look at every improvement in human physiology with alcohol listed above, the opposite effect happens when the dose is beyond about 50 grams of alcohol.

Alcohol and health culinary medicine eating healthy Healthy Eating healthy eating habits medical studies mediterranean diet wine Wine and Mediterranean Diet

Dr. Terry Simpson

About the Author

You probably first saw Dr. Simpson on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook or Twitter. Dr. Terry Simpson received his undergraduate, graduate, and medical degrees from the University of Chicago, where he spent several years in the Kovler Viral Oncology laboratories doing genetic engineering. Until he found he liked people more than Petri dishes. After a career in surgery, his focus is to make sense of the madness, and bust myths. Dr. Simpson, an advocate of culinary medicine, believes in teaching people to improve their health through their food and in their kitchen. On the other side of the world, he has been a leading advocate of changing health care to make it more "relationship based," and his efforts awarded his team the Malcolm Baldrige award for healthcare in 2018 and 2011 for the NUKA system of care in Alaska and in 2013 Dr Simpson won the National Indian Health Board Area Impact Award. A frequent contributor to media outlets discussing health related topics and advances in medicine, he is also a proud dad, author, cook, and doctor “in that order.” For media inquiries, please visit www.terrysimpson.com.