Wine and Beer - a contentious topic of the wellness business and
ecosystem. Abstain, balanced, moderation, indulgence – these are all words that
run though our minds, conversations and presentations. In preparation for a
Happy Hour Wellness Event focused on health snacking and educated choices in
beer and wine, I learned a lot more about the factors to consider when choosing
your tasty beverage for Oktoberfest, Happy Hour and celebrations! I also
learned that the attraction of beer and wine leads to more robust events. So I
decided to impart some recent experiential learnings of mine. Yes I drink wine
and beer. Not as much as I used to and definitely I prefer one over the other,
but I do indulge. I love pairing a complex red with our homemade special meals.
Plus, it’s challenging NOT to indulge when one has a toddler and running a
business! ;-)
Beer:
With the surge in craft beers, the number of additives have increased
to create more complex and unique tasting beers – from IPAs, to grapefruit
saisons, to bourbon barreled stouts. However, like food, less is more. The less
there is IN the beer, the more pure it is, thus a more balanced reaction in
your body – from metabolizing to inflammation, which means a less adverse reaction
in your system (aka hangover – your body’s sign that you have maxed out its
recovery time)
Here’s a list
of beers to avoid, based on unnecessary additives and sources. If you
notice, many German beers are listed as the “beers to drink”.
Another article
illuminated that beer contains B12, which is one of the rare plant based sources
of B12.
Other than that though I have issues with this article as the criteria
of “health” is calories. There is more to it…such as additives, fermentation,
colorings and GMO barley…
SO in summary, my conclusion between reading and the effects of a 2
week trip to Germany and drinking German
beers adhering to the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law – in which the
ingredients are only water, barley, hops, yeast and are Top fermented beers
with no additives) – is to focus on those beers with little to no additives
such as German Beers and those with a lower alcohol percentage. And of course,
drink moderately.
Wine:
A glass of red wine a day can help with relaxation, stress, and providing
flavonoids. But too much and it too has its adverse effects on the body,
hormonal system, sleep, weight and energy levels! Wine is thought of as the
“healthy” alternative, but like beer, less is more! It is challenging
distinguishing which are “healthier” since there are thousands of vintages and
wineries. Researching to find the ultimate winery and wine can be exhaustive.
So follow some key tips:
- Dr. Mark Hyman suggests choosing wines that are low in sulfites, no pesticides, from non-GMO Grapes and contain no additives. Usually these are domestic organic wines or those found in Italy and France with possibly Spain/Portugal as up and coming wines.
- Choose red for lower sugar over sweet white wines.
- If you have mold issues/allergies, then avoid red and choose white pinot grigio or less sugary white or steel barreled chardonnay (the point is to avoid the possibility of mold in the processing).
- Issues with Sulfites? – Sulfites can cause allergic or histamine reactions with asthma like symptoms (Inflammatory reaction) in those with underlying asthma, or sometimes hay fever like reactions, and occasionally hives and very rarely server allergic reaction. Wheezing is a common sign. Sulfites are chemicals used as preservatives to prevent browning and discoloration in foods and beverages. It has been used in wine for centuries because of its antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
- Check out these sources for more organic and sulfite – free wines.
- https://www.dryfarmwines.com/ - Wine club but they suggest their wines have nothing added for pure wine.
- Food Republic - providing the top five wines without sulfites.
An easy tip is focus on Italian and French Reds and those with minimal
processing such as Spanish and Portuguese as well.
Overall, remember to listen to
thy body! I find that beers just don’t sit that well with me. When I drink too
many on vacation (even of the organic and Purity law kind) I become more
bloated, puffy and my skin doesn’t look so great! Same with wine. Just like
food, try and listen to your body and listen well ----when it’s healthy and
when it reacts.
Remember if you indulge, indulge
wisely so you can stay on YOUR wellness track and continue to indulge J
