Wine is healthy. Wine is dangerous. All studies on both sides of this issue are totally inconclusive.
Because of numerous new studies, the French Paradox concept can no longer be considered causal. In fact, it has never actually been proven causal.
Just like all of the studies that claim alcohol at at any level causes cancer or other maladies, the science done so far has produced “associations” which can be considered indications, but cannot be considered causal.
Association is not causation
NONE of the alcohol health studies so far — positive or negative — can be considered causal.
Basically, all the studies on both sides of this issue have concluded various associations.
There was a botched attempt at better methodology back in 2014, but it was cancelled because of potential industry influence and bias and because its results would face been irrelevant to the general public. See: NIH halts controversial moderate alcohol consumption study.
That is why this site and its authors no longer consider “The French Paradox” as a valid guide to health.
It is well known that what a pregnant woman puts in her body, it will have some influence on the developing fetus (either good or bad). Not only does the mother’s diet affect the baby during development in utero, but it can also have a long-term effect on the child throughout her or his life.
These long-term changes are likely influence by changes in the DNA profile of the developing fetus, particularly in the microRNAs, which are responsible for regulating gene expression in the body. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are responsible for the everyday normal functioning of cells, however, any mutation or other dysfunction of these miRNAs can lead to disease either in the near future or over the long term.
A new study published in the journal PLOS One sought to determine if different dietary fats consumed by the mother influenced miRNA expression of the child when these fats were ingested during pregnancy. (Note: rats were used during this study for ethical reasons).
Rats were split into groups and each group fed one of the following fatty acid-based diets: soybean oil, olive oil, fish oil, linseed oil, or palm-oil.
Rats were fed one of the above diets from conception during gestational day 12. After, all rats were fed a standard diet.
Rats that were not pregnant were used as controls.
Liver concentrations of miRNAs were measured for pregnant and control rats, as well as the offspring produced from the pregnancies.
Specific miRNAs studied were those that are involved in insulin signaling.
Important Findings:
Liver concentrations of fatty acids in pregnant and non-pregnant rats reflected that of the specific diet consumed by the rats in early pregnancy.
Liver concentrations of fatty acids in rat pups marginally reflected that of the specific diet consumed by their mothers during early pregnancy.
Liver concentrations of fatty acids of adult offspring were similar to one another, regardless of what their mothers ate during early pregnancy.
miRNA expression in adult offspring were influenced by the specific diet consumed by their mothers during early pregnancy.
Specifically, the following miRNAs were influenced by maternal dietary fatty acid intake: miR-215, miR-10b, miR-26, miR-377-3p, miR-21, and miR-192 (plus several others).
There was reduced expression of miR-192, miR-215, and miR-10b insulin-signaling miRNAs in adult offspring whose mothers were fed the fish oil diet.
The overall results of this study show that maternal fatty acid intake during pregnancy influences the miRNA expression of insulin-signaling genes in offspring. While insulin-signaling genes were the only ones studied, it can be assumed that maternal fatty acid intake might influence much more.
This study also showed that maternal dietary fatty acid intake influences gene expression in adult offspring, indicating that what
the mother eats during early pregnancy has a life-long influence on gene expression and possible disease risk in the resulting offspring.
As an example, over-expression of certain miRNAs and other genes has been linked to increased risk of diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases. In this study, pregnant rats eating a fish oil-based diet had pups who had reduced expression of several insulin-signaling miRNAs when they reached adulthood, potentially decreasing their risk for various metabolic diseases (like diabetes) that might be associated with those same miRNAs.
It was not determined which maternal diet was “better” in terms of miRNA expression in adult offspring, but would certainly make a fascinating follow-up study.
The Mediterranean diet has been shown to bestow countless health benefits to those who consume it, including cardiovascular benefits, mental health benefits, and metabolic health benefits. Metabolic
syndrome is of particular interest to researchers, as there have been significant increases in the various components of the condition (high blood pressure, high sugar levels, excess body weight, and abnormal cholesterol levels) in the recent years which is very likely to be related to dietary changes across all cultures.
A new study in press in the journal Metabolism aimed to examine the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and metabolic syndrome in Polish adults.
8821 Polish adults (aged 45-69 years) participated in this study. Dietary information was collected via self-reported questionnaire and adherence to the Mediterranean diet was scored using the MedTypeDiet Score system.
Height, weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure measurements were taken for each participant during a physical examination.
Other socio-demographic and lifestyle information was also collected.
Important Findings:
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was the same between men and women.
MetTypeDiet scores were significantly (and negatively) associated with waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and triglyceride levels.
Those with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet were least likely to have metabolic syndrome, obesity, high triglyceride levels, and hypertension.
Moderate wine consumption, low dairy intake, and a high unsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio were negatively associated with metabolic syndrome.
The results of this study add to the mounting evidence that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for lowering the risk of metabolic
disease. Specifically, this study found that those with the high adherence to the Mediterranean diet were less likely to have metabolic syndrome, obesity, high triglyceride levels, and hypertension. Looking at individual dietary components, moderate wine consumption, low dairy intake and a higher ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids resulted in a significantly lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome in Polish adults.