Episode 182: Wine & Health With Dr. Matilde Parente, MD, CSW
Dr. Matilde Parente joins us for a fun – but serious – discussion on wine and health. From headaches and hangovers, science and sulfites, to biogenic amines and everything in between. How to distill conflicting headlines? How much should we really be drinking? We address all this and more. This could quite possibly change the way you drink. You’re welcome.
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In the Glasses (2:00)
Matilde: Discusses a Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Abruzzo, Italy. (Montepulciano)
Steph: 2012 Chateau Toumalin, Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, France. (Merlot, Cabernet Franc)*
Val: 2014 Chateau Tour du Moulin Les Terres Rouges, Fronsac, Bordeaux, France (Merlot)*
*Thank you to Weekly Tasting by WTSO, our sponsor, for sending these in time for #MerlotMe month!
Let’s Meet Dr. Matilde Parente, MD, CSW (4:15)
Matilde Parente, MD, CSW is board-certified in pathology and integrative holistic medicine. She is a graduate of Duke University and the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. A healthcare consultant and medical editor who recently co-edited a genetics textbook, Dr. Parente uses her voice and talents to bring value and greater clarity to diagnostic medicine, wellness endeavors and emerging technologies.
Matilde is a member of the Renaud Society, an international society of medical and wine professionals, and a wine judge for the Society’s wine competitions. She writes on wine for online and print media and is the author of Resveratrol and Healing Ways: An Integrative Health Sourcebook. After five years as wine director and wine educator at a California culinary school, the avowed “wine-ologist” continues to share wine smarts at seminars and tastings with corporate, community and private groups.
Her keynote and speaking engagements have included the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, the Society of Wine Educators’ national conferences, Merrill-Lynch, the American Business Women’s Association, World of Women and Marriott International along with wellness speaker-in-residence series at Cal-a-Vie and other destination spas. Matilde blogs about local finds, wine travel and all-things-vinous at www.writeonwines.com and tweets @winefoodhealth.
Wine and Health
Headaches (8:11)
What really is causing them? It may not be just the wine!
Biogenic Amines (9:38)
What they are, and where they come from. Could these be the headache culprit? Matilde talks in-depth about ongoing research and what other countries are doing to alert consumers to certain levels of biogenic amines. She also gives some tips on avoiding a wine with potentially high levels.
Myths That Persist? (15:25)
We’re putting the Sulfite thing to bed. Matilda distinguishes Sulfite-allergy symptoms, which affect only about 1% of the population, from headaches. There is a difference.
The Hangover Experience (19:45)
Who knew there was so much going on inside the body while we’re hungover?! We’re talking inflammation overdrive and a chemical storm as a result of your body fighting off a toxic load of alcohol. Let that sink in the next time you binge. We also learned that once the alcohol is metabolized to zero in the bloodstream, that’s when you feel the worse.
A Congener Conversation (23:45)
Yeah. We were shocked. Congeners are compounds responsible for the color or flavor, and are often mentioned in reference to spirits. Brown spirits and Tequila are high in congeners. Well, that glass of single malt congener goodness has also been associated with headaches and hangovers. The doctor says that watching intake (amount and rate of alcohol consumption) and checking out clear spirits or lower-congener drinks might help. Again, research is evolving on these topics
The Straight Skinny on Click Bait (29:00)
Science, studies and silly stories are all around us. The doc admits that extracting useful information out of some of these ridiculous “too good to be true” headlines can be challenging. “Science isn’t a straight line to progress, it zigs and zags,” and it’s tough enough for scientists to distill down, let alone the average reader, Matilde says. However, she gives us a few pointers around 31:00 in. From looking at how well studies were controlled, what they actually studied, to strengths and weaknesses of the study there are many reasons to be critical. But she did tell us to look for studies that examined total mortality, and perhaps look at the studies on rats with a little more side-eye. Think before you share.
Bottom line: the one thing all of these conflicting studies do agree on is that drinking a lot, particularly as it pertains to bingeing in the US, is just not good for you!
The Wine Health Halo (41:55)
Wellness and wine is a hot topic in many industry circles. We all want to stay healthy! Wine can be an integral part of that. Everything from wine and yoga to the painting and wine sessions can often be attributed to marketing. However, Matilde does emphasize that wine as part of a high-quality diet for people with healthy social lives and connections can close that wellness connection circuit. Unfortunately, only 5 – 10% of Americans meet the minimum requirements of regular exercise, a healthy diet, and other optimal components of the survival benefits where wine plays a role.
Natural Doesn’t Always Mean “Good” (46:00)
That’s right. There is no regulation on the word “natural.” As it applies to wine, it just signals minimal intervention in the winemaking process. There is no direct wellness connection to these “natural” wines.
Also, rewind to the biogenic amines discussion at 09:38.
Ask the Doc! (48:29)
This segment answers some Speakpipe questions! Listen to what she has to say on wine and spirits with respect to health (which one’s ‘better’?), as well as how much one should consume during a week.
Thank you, Michael, for “calling in!”
Talk About Pressure! (53:52)
Just when you think you’re going to a wine dinner as a guest, someone puts you on the spot to blind taste and ID ALL the wines in front of a crowd. Did this ever happen to you? It happened to Matilde, and you’ll want to hear how she handled it.
Weekly Tasting from WTSO is our Podcast Sponsor! (58:20)
Weekly Tasting offers hand-selected wines from industry experts. No clubs. No hassle. But cool videos, recipe cards, and wine notes! This week, the wines in our glasses in were selected by Laura Maniec, MS.
Follow them on Instagram, FaceBook and Twitter and see what’s new and good!
Meanwhile, our listeners have their very own listener page at: weeklytasting.com/W25 to sign up and get started!
Or just go to our web page and click on the link to get started!
Big Patreon Love (59:09)
Thank you to our patrons who support us on our Patreon crowdfunding platform!
*We do read all the names on the show, and feature the list on our Support page.*
Connect (1:00:22)
Reach out to Dr. Matilde Parente on Twitter, @WineFoodHealth. Her website is WriteOnWines.com. You can also find her book, Healing Ways: An Integrative Health Sourcebook on Amazon!
Between each weekly chat you can find us on the social spaces @WineTwoFive, and play in our private FaceBook group called Wine Two Five Community!
Connect with Val on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and everywhere else as @VinoWithVal.
Steph is in all the social spaces as @TheWineHeroine.
Reminders
- Remember you can always leave us a question or comment via Speakpipe like Michael did for this episode! We’ll be doing an entire show on Burning Wine Questions next month.
- You can find us on the My Wine Society App. There are also channels on travel, wellness, events, wineries and more.
