• Jan 25, 2023

Why wine is a better choice when drinking alcohol

Author of the Glucose Revolution biochemist Jessie Inchauspé has some interesting facts on the way your body processes Glucose.

Glucose is our main source of energy. We get most of it from the foods we eat, it's then carried in our blood-stream to our cells.

One of the most interesting findings is the effect of foods on our blood sugar levels.

Simply by ordering of foods when we eat can have benefits in reducing the Glucose Spike. By ordering Jessie suggests vegetables first, protein and fats second then starches and fruit.

It turns out the fibre from the vegetbles has a remarkable effect at reducing Glucose spikes. Without even changing what you eat, you can instantly improve your health through diet order of foods you eat.

With the advent of Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM), the Glucose curve can be monitored by anyone. Jessie advises to flatten out our Glucose curves and has a number of hacks to do this.

The good news for wine drinkers is consumption of both red and white wine has a dramatically reduced Glucose spike than say beer. To learn why this simple fact can have huge overall health benefits we have written this article, that hopefully will be a catalyst for you to prove these strategies right or wrong.

Why Glucose Spikes are Dangerous to our health

It is not just people with diabetes or pre-diabetes that are interested in Glucose levels.

Glucose influences our hunger and our mood. Its in our interests to get this under control.

If our glucose levels are out of balance-:

• Weight gain
• Hormone issues
• Skin issues
• Craving sugar
• Brain fog
• Heart issues
• Prediabetes/Diabetes 2 risk
• Weakened immune system
• Inflamation
• Insulin resistence

During a spike, Glucose floods into our body quickly, increasing its concentration in our bloodstream by more than 1.7 millimoles per litre (mmol/L) in the span of an hour (or less), then decreasing just as quickly. The spikes have harmful consequences.

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With flatter Glucose curves, we reduce the amount of insulin - a hormone released in in response to Glucose - in our body, and this is beneficial, as too much insulin is one of the main drivers of insulin resistence, type 2 diabetes, and PCOS.

Insulin Resistence

Insulin resistence is where our body no longer repsonds to insulin as it once did.

We should pay attention to fat, fructrose and insulin. Gluten free, Reduced Fat, Vegan, Organic and other terms do not necessary define a healthy food choice.

Sugar is Sugar

Nature intended us to consume glucose in a specific way: in plants. Whenever there was starch or sugar, there was fibre as well.

The sugar content of fruit is higher than even a decade ago. Varieties of bananas have consistently become sweeter.

Many names for sugar

There are at least 56 names for sugar. An understanding of these names can help with so called "health benefits" promoted on labels of some very unhealthy foods.

Supermarket shelves are certainly not arranged in the order nature intended. The affect of loading ourselves with sugar and starch is obvious. Fibre is often removed from processed foods so they can be frozen.

Alcohol

Alcohol is in many ways dangerous to your health.

Almost 200 years ago, an Irish doctor noted that chest pain (angina) was far less common in France than in Ireland. He attributed the difference to "the French habits and mode of living."

Beer

When it comes to beer, which causes spikes because of its high carb content, ale and lager are preferable to stout (such as Guinness) and porter. Even better go for low-carb beer.

Wine and your blood glucose

Alcohols that keep our levels steady are wine (red, white, rosé, sparkling) as well as spirits (gin, vodka, tequila, whisky and even rum). We can drink these on an empty stomach, and they don't cause a Glucose spike.

Your moods will improve with less Glucose spikes

Food affects how we feel.

Science tells us that when people eat a diet that leads to lots of Glucose spikes, they report worsening moods over time and more depressive symptoms than if they eat a diet of similar calories but with flatter curves. (Glucose curves)

Note there is far more to health and diet than what is presented here. BUT there is enough to the science to arouse your curiosity. And you can test these theories out instantly.

References and Sources

Jessie Inchauspé author of Glucose Revolution The life-changing power of balancing your blood sugar - Instagram @glucosegoddess

Anna Barnwell, MSW, MPH Secret Sugars: 56 Different Names for Sugar https://www.virtahealth.com/blog/names-for-sugar

Is Wine Fine, or Beer Better? https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/is-wine-fine-or-beer-better/