Keeping in mind that there is no minimal recommended daily dose of alcohol, where the safest risk/benefit calculation is to not drink at all, people do like to drink! So with that in mind…
I bring this up because in my writing project I mention this theoretical health advantage of fruits and vegetables as well as wine. There is one theory that they contain micronutrients which help to repel predators and manage environmental stressors. In Chinese Medicine, natural home grown food is best. They didn’t know this about the micronutrients, but there may be something to it, since food grown at home, or close to where you live may be the best fit and provide a minor challenge, a hormetic challenge, that keeps you stronger. more here about vitamins and the hormesis theory.
From Discover Magazine (sorry, no link it’s behind a paywall)
“But experiments have identifies micronutrients called polyphenols, derived from grapes and the fermentation process, as a source of potential benefits like lower levels of inflammation markers in the blood and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Plants produce these molecules in the wild to manage environmental stressor like ultra violet light and free radicals. That could explain why they offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties within the body. Natural wine (grapes grown without pesticides and additives) may offer more abundant polyphenols by cutting out the fining process, which is thought to remove them. And orange wines–which gain their distinctive hue when the skins of white grapes aren’t removed for fermentation, and are often considered natural–also contain even higher levels of polyphenols. that level is just shy of the amount found in reds, though, which are thought to offer more protective effects than most types of alcohol.
Waterhouse (an expert) thinks that polyphenols could even benefit the gut’s microbiome. Interestingly, he says, research may alo prove that combining wine and a nutritious meal may deliver the optimal health advantages. Maybe those fancy wine-pairing menus are the right idea after all.”
