Wine: its therapeutical uses
By Princessa
Wine: its therapeutical uses
I knew Wine is a very important part on French life. There cannot be a good lunch or dinner without a good bottle of wine. It always amazes me that in some restaurants wine is still cheaper than bottled water!
I was trying to learn more about wine, when one of my neighbours offered me a book entitled "Le vin et la santé". A book written by Doctor Eylaud. I was surprised to find that wine is not only a gastronomic pleasure, but that it has also been used for a long time for its therapeutic properties.
At least in central France, Wine has been used to relieve conditions such as anaemia, hypertension, hypotension, rheumatism, gout, obesity, dyspepsia among many other things. Unlike modern medical advice, the French used to drink wine even during pregnancy due to the richness in minerals of certain wines such us the rouges from Bordeaux.
For Dyspepsia, for example, the popular tradition would recommend light white wines, low in alcoholic content and with sodium bicarbonate in its composition. For Hypotension, that is low blood pressure, the recommended wine is a sweet white or a generous red wine. While for the opposite condition, hypertension, a dry white wine or a red one without tannins are recommended. To help treat obesity, it is preferable to drink a dry white wine or very young red ones.
A "luxurious" treatment for anaemia, is a glass of champagne every day. But if you are not fond of the bubbles, you can always take a glass of red wine, preferably a Medoc.
There you are... another excuse to keep up the wine consumption!!
Harvest 2007, Chateau de la Garde
Grandma's Remedies
For recovering after an illness
You will need:
- 1 Kg. Spinachs
- 1 bottle of red wine, preferably a Médoc.
- 3 spoons of honey
To prepare, extract the juice of the spinach, put it in a bottle and fill up to the top with the red wine. Add the honey, shake well and drink. You can have 2 glasses per day. Keep the bottle in the refrigerator.
To be honest, I much prefer to have a spinach salad and drink the bottle of wine. Even better, a spinach and Boursin quiche and wash it down with the bottle of wine... but there you are... the recipe is the recipe!
The recipe bases its efficacy on the properties of both the spinach and the wine. The spinach is rich in folic acid and iron salts easily absorbed by the body. While the Wine from the Médoc region is very rich in iron, helping the body to fight anaemia. This along with the tannin content which boosts vitamin C are great for recovering after a disease. Médoc wine is also rich in phosphorus which increases energy The potassium helps regularise the cardiac rhythm, improving muscular function as well as mental faculties. But the most important thing is that a Médoc is simply delicious...
For Bruises
But the French grandmothers not only used wine for drinking or cooking. They also used wine for making a paste to put on top of bruises to help the healing. The grandmother of a friend used to boil parsley with red wine and reduce it to a paste in a mortar afterwards. She would put this paste several times a day over the bruise which according to my friend, healed it in no time at all.
A slight variation of the above is using bread soaked in red wine to put on top of the bruises.
Against Depression:
Each time grandma felt an inclination to sadness or anger, she ran to the fridge to get her aperitif made of white wine and after that she smiled like the Mona Lisa the rest of the day!
To make this anti depressive you will need:
- 2 Litres of Gaillac Blanc -This is a dry white wine with low alcohol content.
- 400 gr. of sugar
- 50 gr. of Chicory roots. - because it simulates the appetite and sense of well being.
- 4 oranges, only the skin.
- 1 stick of cinnamon. Because of it's effects on the nervous system.
To prepare, put all the ingredients in a big bowl or bucket and leave to marinate for 4 days. Stir at least twice a day. The fifth day, you can bottle the contents and start drinking it.
MEDOC
Located in the South-west of France, in the area of Bordeaux, the Medoc has some of the most prestigious red wine vintages. On the area, one counts 8 Labels of origin Controlled, and more than 750 vintages, of which some are famous everywhere in the world.
In the Médoc there are eight appellations - two regional appellations, Médoc and Haut-Médoc, and six communal appellations : Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Moulis en Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, and Margaux
A Guide to Chateau Margaux
6 Reasons Why a Little Glass of Wine Each Day May Do You Good
- 6 Reasons Why a Little Glass of Wine Each Day May Do You Good - Healthy Eating - Health.com
The list of wine’s benefits is long—and getting more surprising all the time. Already well-known as heart-healthy, wine in moderation might help you lose weight, reduce forgetfulness, boost your immunity, and help prevent bone loss.With America likel
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Comments
I looked at the page David. I must admit I am very fond of Ports. In fact, you just put me in the mood for the aperitif!
Princessa!
If I were ever in need of an excuse to drink wine! I will pretend to have all the symptoms you have described.
Great HUB
regards Zsuzsy
Unfortunately, I never need any excuse to drink wine... I don't need any encouragement! Great Hub all the same!
I am glad you will not run out of excuses to enjoy a good healthy glass of wine ZsuzsY. I should be posting a few more illnesses that can be relieve with the aid of wine, just in case ^_^
Like you Marisa, I do not need any encouragement to always be on the hunt of that special bottle. After all... if you are in France, DO as the French!
The mention of port reminds me of my grandmother. Her doctor once diagnosed her as being slightly anemic and prescribed a glass of port wine before going to bed. Most of the time she only followed her doctor's advice when it was convenient. But with her anemia she followed her doctor's advice religiously and never went to bed without first having one glass of port wine. Whether it helped or not I don't know but she was healthy all of her life and lived to be 99.
Granny always knows best Chuck ;-)
Great hub, Princessa!
Thanks Isabella! just following your steps... or trying at least...
Mmmm.
The wine really does appeal to me.
I love your post,
I may go just live in France becuase I read this.
Great Work!
Tom
Thanks Tom, I am sure you would love France!
Very informative! I love this article, and now I have a reason to drink...even better! haha!
I tried to explain to my husband that I needed to start drinking more wine...he's looking for you! haha!! You are the best! Thank you tremendously for giving me a heads up on that article of mine :) good lookin' out!
You are welcome Erinn. I hope your husband is looking for me to ask me to ship him some boxes of Medoc for you lol...
I know from experience that wine helps cure anaemia. I'm from Hungary originally and I had a slight anaemia when I was around 11. We had the greatest family doctor at the time and he believed in homeopathy. He advised my mom that I should drink a glass of wine everyday to help with my anaemia. I was better shortly after that and I've loved wine ever since. I especially like red vines, but I don't discriminate against a great white vine.
Great great lens. Oui oui oui. Encore du vin!
Nice one, Princessa. I like the two very different videos.
Peterjr: I am glad to hear that having red wine worked for your anaemia. I am following the same treatment just now. A glass or two of Medoc a day and hope that keeps my anaemia away, cheers!
mroconnell: toujours le vin!
chabrenas: thanks for your comment and for popping in. A la votre Mr.
This is interesting. The wines I enjoy the most are Riesling and Red Zinfadel - those fit the characteristics of wines that help with my low blood pressure. Very informative!
Katherine: Red Zinfandel is an "American Classic", and it also helps Build better bones. On average, women who drink moderately seem to have higher bone mass than abstainers. Alcohol appears to boost estrogen levels.
great information on wine, my favorite is red wine...
Hey, great article. Very informative and helpful for beginners. I am inviting you and your readers to check out this site: http://goinggrapes.com There's more helpful tidbits on how to cultivate your grapes here. Thanks!
A friend told me to add a flower called Blue Lotus to wine. Apparently the egyptians used to add it for health purposes. Anyone heard of this ?
great hub princesa, for like me who is learning about wines it is a very helpful hub, thanks for sharing this information.
Blue Lotus Wine: Blue Lotus? that's a new one on me.
midnightbliss: I learnt that the best way to learn about wines is tasting them. Start with the very basic ones and work up your way to the more complex ones. Walking in the forest, smelling the trees, flowers and wild fruits also helps a lot to identify the aroma of the wine you are drinking.
This may sound a little strange or off-putting, but I have encountered on numerous occasions in literature another use of wine. However, I do not know it to be a good use or not. I have read in mostly stories set in the distant past or middle ages, of wine being used for the cleansing, or for lack of a better term douching a woman prior to a sexual encounter.
I was just curios as to if anyone had also been exposed to this or if you had any insight as to how or why this originated.
flutterby701: I have not heard about that, now you've make me curious. I know you can use apple cider vinegar to cure candida, and I have even heard about women douching with garlic preparations so maybe using wine is not that strange...
More reasons to love wine! I knew it was good for your internal health in moderation, but was not aware of external applications. Interesting.
Very informative. Great hub
As a heart patient, I mandate to myself - exercise and a glass of red wine. Resveratrol in the red wine is stated to be heart healthy. Some studies have recommended 2-3 glasses per day. While I am not a doctor and have no medical background, I think it should be proportional - 1 glass per 100 lbs. - let's be reasonable - and be focused on moderation.
Polyphenols in red wine may make red wine a preventative for cancer and heart disease - great antioxidant. Polyphenols are found only in phytochemical plants such as grapes, legumes and berries, etc...setting red wine apart from other alcohols.
Rose: One is always learning something new in HubPages :-)
freelanceauthor: thank you
GmaGoldie: Thanks for your input and suggestions. All I can add is that my retired neighbours (most of them in their 80s) never forget a glass of wine with their meal everyday, and despite eating loads of animal fats (butter, goose fat, duck, foi grass, etc) they look as healthy as any 50 year old anywhere else! Like you emphasise, exercise is also part of their daily routine as they walk everyday to the town center to do their daily shopping.
love to use wine for cooking too!
Wow ! What a nice article and picture.Thank you.
anatrenas: Yes, it is. I specially like poached eggs in a red wine sauce... yummy
NP.Queen: Enjoy!
Interesting stuff! Princessa-a red wine sauce? I've never heard of that one!
Ana is right, any list with uses for wine should include cooking. Plus, what else can you do when you forget to recork the bottle?
MarkAse: the red wine sauce for the poached eggs is super easy. Just fry in a tea spoon of butter some bacon cut in small squares, add a finely chopped onion (or even better an echalotte) let them caramelize. Once the onion looks ready, add the red wine and Simmer for 5 minutes to remove alcohol. Add one tea spoon of maizena diluted in cold water, let cook for a few minutes and that is your sauce ready to go over your poached eggs.
Bon Appétit
David Cowley 4 years ago
Here is some info on port wine http://hubpages.com/hub/Port-Wine