Wine

Jenelle Green
Extra Credit Story (just a news story)
Red Wines Benefits and Consequences
Red wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of grape juice. The grapes have a natural chemical balance in them so that they can ferment without adding sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. The wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast which consume the sugars found in the grapes and converting them into alcohol. We get the different colors and flavors by using a variety of grapes and different strains of yeast.
There are several types of red wine. Red wine is best described by its “body-type.” You have a light-bodied red wine such as Beaujolais Noveau which is best described as having fewer tannins (less pucker punch) and leaving less substance on one’s palate. A medium-bodied red wine would be Merlot, Shiraz, and Chianti; these contain more tannins. The last description is a full-bodied wine which include wines from California’s key cabs or Italy’s Super Tuscan. This particular wine packs a powerful punch.
Although red wine is great with dinner or to have in front of a nice campfire on a cold night, it also has health benefits if it is drank in moderation.
The first benefit is its connection with cancer prevention . The red wine seems to minimize DNA mutations that lead to cancer, inducing cell death in cancer cells, and blocking the formation f new blood vessels that feed tumors.
Another benefit from red wine is the antioxidants that have been shown to provide certain benefits. The antioxidants have shown evidence of preventing the oxidation process in which free radicals cause damage to healthy cells. For a moderate drinker a glass or two daily will offer some protection of heart disease due to the antioxidants.
These students aren’t concrete. They aren’t suggesting people to drink more. Although it seems red wine can help prevent certain things, when taken advantage of (just like with anything else), red wine can be harmful.
One of the harms too much alcohol can cause is cirrhosis of the liver. This directly results in alcohol abuse and is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. Alcohol when drank in excess also has been linked to insomnia, heartburn, and high blood pressure. Drinking erratically has also been linked to increased levels of triglycerides in the blood that can lead to heart disease
Besides the long term effects of drinking too much, there are also short term effects such as the infamous hangover. Alcohol is a diuretic and dehydration almost always accompanies excess drinking.
The bottom line is that drinking in moderation is fine and can come with some benefits however drinking in excess have consequences.