/oss/taxonomy/term/997/all en /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/did-scientists-just-discover-compound-responsible-red-wine-headaches <p>While consuming too much of any alcoholic substance can lead to a headache, red wine headaches tend to be a little bit different. Both because a red-wine-induced headache tends to hit the drinker within 30 minutes to 3 hours of consuming the beverage, rather than several hours later as in the case of a hangover, and because rather than copious amounts of alcohol, red wine headaches can be induced with even just one or two glasses. </p> Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9738 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/eating-less-and-living-more <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/04/29/eating-less-and-living-more/bagette/" rel="attachment wp-att-5117"><img alt="" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/04/bagette-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>They feast on croissants that ooze butter. They eat creamy cheeses and fat-filled pastries. Breakfast is pain-au-chocolat washed down with espresso. There is no oatmeal in sight. I suspect most of them have never heard of flaxseed. Yet, the French have the lowest death rate from heart disease in the European Union, and when we compare this rate to North America, well, there is no comparison. Our incidence of heart disease is double that of the French. Red wine consumption is the romanticized explanation that has been offered for this so-called “French paradox,” and there may indeed be something to that. Laboratory studies have shown that a compound in wine, called resveratrol, may reduce the risk associated with high cholesterol. But there is probably a better explanation as to why the French are protected. <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/04/29/eating-less-and-living-more">Read more</a></p> Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:30:23 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1927 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/what-does-blanc-de-noirs-mean-when-referring-wine <p>By removing the grape skins after red grapes are pressed. Many people believe that red wine is made from red grapes and white wine from green grapes. They are wrong. When grapes are pressed, the juice is white, no matter what variety of grape is used. But if the juice is left in contact with red grape skins, pigments leach out of the skins and colour the wine. These pigments belong to a family of compounds called anthocyanins which are responsible for the colouration of many fruits and vegetables.</p> Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:30:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1585 at /oss /oss/article/health-you-asked/what-all-talk-about-paradox-blanc <p>If you take a look at all the literature put out by the French wine industry, you'll start to wonder whether you should replace wine drinking by intravenous infusions of red wine. They make a case for wine being virtually a drug to prevent heart disease. They offer reams of scientific evidence about neutralizing free radicals and preventing cholesterol from damaging the walls of arteries. Of course, that doesn't prove that wine is responsible for the French Paradox. That paradox is the low rate of heart disease compared to North America in spite of a high fat diet.</p> Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:25:32 +0000 OSS 1753 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/oh-those-miracle-workers <p>They know how to bypass a bypass. They know how to energize your body and brain without exercise. They can make Parkinson’s tremors vanish. They can produce erections that last two hours. And of course, they know how to cure cancer, macular degeneration and diabetes.</p> Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:32:38 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 1582 at /oss