To Your Health: Two Physicians Explore the Health Benefits of Wine

Lipp and Whitten, physicians and wine drinkers, are leading the charge to place a bottle of wine on every table. And, in fact, the health benefits of light-to-moderate wine consumption have been recognized for some time. Still, the authors believe that Americans have been inundated for too long by the negative charges of irresponsible wine consumption to acknowledge the proven cardiovascular benefits of the beverage. The premise of their volume, that regular consumption of up to two four-ounce glasses a day will bring health benefits, is widley accepted. The authors provide no new research to expand the debate. And while they do not deny that alcohol abuse is a significant national problem, they nonetheless rail against the 1987 prohibition forbidding the purchase of alcoholic beverages by anyone under 21. Lipp and Whitten also contend that the regulations requiring warning labels on wine bottles are unfair, unnecessary and of little use. They say that most people drink alcoholic beverages sensibly, and that wine, usually imbibed with foods, is the least abused of all alcoholic beverages. If Prohibition were still on the books, their defense of wine would almost be palatable--but in today's environment, it's hard to stomach. (June)