In his new book "The Red Wine Diet". UK researcher Roger Corder makes an
interesting case for a diet high in procyanidins, one of the phenols found
in red wine, and in chocolate, apples, cinnamon and other plant sources.
Oddly enough, these procyanidins seem to be produced by plants in their
skins and seeds for protection from rot and insects. Corder makes a
convincing case that wine procyanidins are the solution to the "French
Paradox" rather than resveratrol, and their benefits to the human
circulatory system have also been identified in certain red wine drinking
populations in Sardinia, Crete, and Sicily, as well as Southern France.
Other confirming evidence comes from the Kuna natives of Panama who drink
large quantities of cocoa containing a similar dose of procyanidins, and who
achieve the same beneficial health effects.

Corder rates wine by * to ***** in order of their procyanidin content, with
the highest ratings going to tannic and acidic wines such as the tannat
based wines of the Madiran region of France (120+ mg/4 oz glass). These
wines tend to be the kind you want to drink with food. He suggests that two
glasses of these highest rated wines give you 250-500mg of procyanidins, his
recommended dose per day for optimum health benefits. Since the
procyanidins come from the grape skin and seeds, and they deteriorate over
time, the highest concentrations are found in young wines fermented for
weeks in contact with the skins and seeds. As a general rule he found
higher levels in cabernet sauvignon.

Corder also rates various foods in terms of a medium 4 oz glass of high
procyanidin wine (~60 mg). For instance:

2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (non alkali processed)
1 Tsp cinnamon powder
1 apple, especially tart ones like granny smith
1/2 cup raspberries
1.5 oz walnuts

All the above foods rate equivalent to Corder's (60 mg procyanidin) good
glass of wine, so the five of them together would give you about 300 mg, his
recommended daily dose. Note that the USDA estimates the typical USA
consumption of procyanidins as less than 50 mg, mainly from chocolate and
apples.

I found the book very persuasive and have modified my food and wine
selections as suggested. But I am wondering if many folks would be
convinced by these scientific arguments to significantly change their taste
in wines. Corder suggests that his arguments will be persuasive enough so
that wine labels will someday include procyanidin contents. This would be
very helpful since Corder's list of wine procyanidin levels is limited.

Dave
Bailey's Crossroads, VA

"David Saum" > wrote in message news:PxK6j.4311$k22.3966@trnddc02...
> In his new book "The Red Wine Diet". UK researcher Roger Corder makes an interesting case for a diet high
> in procyanidins, one of the phenols found in red wine, and in chocolate, apples, cinnamon and other plant
> sources. Oddly enough, these procyanidins seem to be produced by plants in their skins and seeds for
> protection from rot and insects. Corder makes a convincing case that wine procyanidins are the solution to
> the "French Paradox" rather than resveratrol, and their benefits to the human circulatory system have also
> been identified in certain red wine drinking populations in Sardinia, Crete, and Sicily, as well as
> Southern France. Other confirming evidence comes from the Kuna natives of Panama who drink large quantities
> of cocoa containing a similar dose of procyanidins, and who achieve the same beneficial health effects.
>
> Corder rates wine by * to ***** in order of their procyanidin content, with the highest ratings going to
> tannic and acidic wines such as the tannat based wines of the Madiran region of France (120+ mg/4 oz
> glass). These wines tend to be the kind you want to drink with food. He suggests that two glasses of
> these highest rated wines give you 250-500mg of procyanidins, his recommended dose per day for optimum
> health benefits. Since the procyanidins come from the grape skin and seeds, and they deteriorate over
> time, the highest concentrations are found in young wines fermented for weeks in contact with the skins and
> seeds. As a general rule he found higher levels in cabernet sauvignon.
>
> Corder also rates various foods in terms of a medium 4 oz glass of high procyanidin wine (~60 mg). For
> instance:
>
> 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (non alkali processed)
> 1 Tsp cinnamon powder
> 1 apple, especially tart ones like granny smith
> 1/2 cup raspberries
> 1.5 oz walnuts
>
> All the above foods rate equivalent to Corder's (60 mg procyanidin) good glass of wine, so the five of them
> together would give you about 300 mg, his recommended daily dose. Note that the USDA estimates the typical
> USA consumption of procyanidins as less than 50 mg, mainly from chocolate and apples.
>
> I found the book very persuasive and have modified my food and wine selections as suggested. But I am
> wondering if many folks would be convinced by these scientific arguments to significantly change their
> taste in wines. Corder suggests that his arguments will be persuasive enough so that wine labels will
> someday include procyanidin contents. This would be very helpful since Corder's list of wine procyanidin
> levels is limited.
>
> Dave
> Bailey's Crossroads, VA
>

I heard it takes 37 glasses of red wine a day to actually do you any good

--
Lew/+Silat

On 2007-12-08 22:54:06 -0800, "Lew"
> said

> I heard it takes 37 glasses of red wine a day to actually do you any good

And your point is??? :^)

"Ronin" > wrote in message ...
> On 2007-12-08 22:54:06 -0800, "Lew" > said
>
>> I heard it takes 37 glasses of red wine a day to actually do you any good
>
> And your point is??? :^)
>

I cant remember
Lew

"Lew" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "David Saum" > wrote in message
> news:PxK6j.4311$k22.3966@trnddc02...
>> In his new book "The Red Wine Diet". UK researcher Roger Corder makes an
>> interesting case for a diet high in procyanidins, one of the phenols
>> found in red wine, and in chocolate, apples, cinnamon and other plant
>> sources. Oddly enough, these procyanidins seem to be produced by plants
>> in their skins and seeds for protection from rot and insects. Corder
>> makes a convincing case that wine procyanidins are the solution to the
>> "French Paradox" rather than resveratrol, and their benefits to the human
>> circulatory system have also been identified in certain red wine drinking
>> populations in Sardinia, Crete, and Sicily, as well as Southern France.
>> Other confirming evidence comes from the Kuna natives of Panama who drink
>> large quantities of cocoa containing a similar dose of procyanidins, and
>> who achieve the same beneficial health effects.
>>
>> Corder rates wine by * to ***** in order of their procyanidin content,
>> with the highest ratings going to tannic and acidic wines such as the
>> tannat based wines of the Madiran region of France (120+ mg/4 oz glass).
>> These wines tend to be the kind you want to drink with food. He suggests
>> that two glasses of these highest rated wines give you 250-500mg of
>> procyanidins, his recommended dose per day for optimum health benefits.
>> Since the procyanidins come from the grape skin and seeds, and they
>> deteriorate over time, the highest concentrations are found in young
>> wines fermented for weeks in contact with the skins and seeds. As a
>> general rule he found higher levels in cabernet sauvignon.
>>
>> Corder also rates various foods in terms of a medium 4 oz glass of high
>> procyanidin wine (~60 mg). For instance:
>>
>> 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (non alkali processed)
>> 1 Tsp cinnamon powder
>> 1 apple, especially tart ones like granny smith
>> 1/2 cup raspberries
>> 1.5 oz walnuts
>>
>> All the above foods rate equivalent to Corder's (60 mg procyanidin) good
>> glass of wine, so the five of them together would give you about 300 mg,
>> his recommended daily dose. Note that the USDA estimates the typical USA
>> consumption of procyanidins as less than 50 mg, mainly from chocolate and
>> apples.
>>
>> I found the book very persuasive and have modified my food and wine
>> selections as suggested. But I am wondering if many folks would be
>> convinced by these scientific arguments to significantly change their
>> taste in wines. Corder suggests that his arguments will be persuasive
>> enough so that wine labels will someday include procyanidin contents.
>> This would be very helpful since Corder's list of wine procyanidin levels
>> is limited.
>>
>> Dave
>> Bailey's Crossroads, VA
>>
>
> I heard it takes 37 glasses of red wine a day to actually do you any
> good
>

Yes, that is probably true for a red wine selected at
random. That is why Corder's list of higher procyanidin wines is useful,
and why his proposed addition of procyanidin content to wine labels would be
even more useful.

Corder's lowest category 1* wine has 30-45 mg procyanidin, so it would take
about 7-10 glasses to get his recommended 300 mg/day. Most red wines do not
even rate his 1*.

Note that there may be a threshold effect for procyanidin consumption, so
below about 150 per day may give you much benefit.

As a low end example, inexpensive Turning Leaf Cabernet is listed by Corder
as 2* or 45-60 mg procyanidin, or about 5-7 glasses per day for 300 mg. So
you probably would not want to try to get all your daily recommended
procyanidins from a 2* wine.

At the high end, Madiran wines are generally rated as 5* or 120+ mg, or
about 2 glasses per day for 300 mg. So it would be reasonable to get your
daily recommended procyanidins from 5* wines. Unfortunately these wines
are not inexpensive.

Since there are a wide variety of procyanidins and
related polyphenols in food and drink, and we don't know all that might be
beneficial, Corder recommends consuming a wide variety through food and
drink. So you do not need to rely totally on wine. You can get
some or all of your daily minimum from foods such as chocolate, apples,
berries, cinnamon, nuts, etc. I drink a morning smoothie that contains
enough of these foods to add up to 300 mg of procyanidins.

For more information, see the Telegraph series on Corder and his book:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/ma...winediet27.xml

Dave
Bailey's Crossroads, VA

online video of Corder
http://realmeals.tv/cooking_tips.asp...tid=1307965875

short list of Corder high procyanidin wines
http://tdh46.typepad.com/mondosapore...me-red-hi.html

short list of Corder high procyanidin wines
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/ma...diet27menu.xml

Dave
Bailey's Crossroads, VA