Smoking is among the four leading causes of death, cutting down on smoking and alcohol has become one of the most important lifestyle changes for health and longevity. Still, addicts are not likely to give up tobacco and alcohol all of a sudden. There are, however, those who are resolute, have strong convictions, and are persevering, who forcibly quit smoking and drinking. Nevertheless, there are different opinions regarding quitting smoking and drinking because wine not only has an extensive past but also the beauty of health preservation.
Hence, people who can’t stop drinking are inclined to concentrate on low-alcohol cocktails, home-brewed plant wines (like bract wine, persimmon wine, wine, sorghum wine, etc.), and medicinal wines endowed with health benefits, as these wines are regarded by many people as the safest ones. But this is not always true, with some wines that may look safe but actually harbor significant health risks.
1. Self-brewing
My country has a very long history of private winemaking, and many people are still very enthusiastic about making their own wine, believing it to be purely natural without any additives and to be the safest and the most delicious. The thing is, there are many health hazards in self-brewing, among which the issue of excessive methanol may be more dominant. Regular wine factories will do strict testing on methanol and other related indicators before the products leave the factory, but home-brewed wine does not meet such testing conditions, and the methanol content can exceed the standard easily. Methanol is very dangerous to the human body. If you take too much methanol, you will have symptoms like dizziness and vomiting in the case of a mild one. In a severe one, you may fall into a coma, lose your sight, or maybe have your liver stopped working.
Besides the methanol issue, the one of self-brewing is that it tends to develop harmful bacteria. The lack of strictly regulated sterilization operations in home brewing makes it difficult to effectively prevent miscellaneous bacterial contamination. During fermentation, the growth of miscellaneous bacteria may produce harmful substances. At the same time, self-brewed fusel oil, furfural, etc. may also exceed the standard, causing harm to human health. For instance, the poisoning and narcotic effects of fusel oil are stronger than those of ethanol, and it can cause the congestion of nervous system and headaches.
2. Low-priced open-caps
It is quite common to come across some information about low-priced open-top wines for sale on various online platforms. The wines were claimed to be the originals of the genuine wines, and were on sale at low prices due to reasons such as destroying the original packaging for scanning the QR code for a lottery. For example, in the case of some famous brands of liquor, the official flagship store sells at a high price, while the open lid can be half or more cheaper.
However, such wine is still a big safety risk. Firstly, once the liquor is opened, the product cannot be traced back to its source, and the production information as well as the identification information are hard to confirm. Secondly, after the wine has been unsealed and the wine body has lost its original sealing protection, it is easy for the wine to be polluted by air, dust, microorganisms, etc., which, in turn, will cause the wine to deteriorate, producing harmful substances that threaten the safety of the drinker.
3. Medicinal wine
In many people’s eyes, medicinal wine is a fantastic health-preserving product “wine borrows its medicinal potential and medicine helps its power”. It is particularly liked by the middle-aged and old people. Many people only follow the trend and make “folk medicinal wine” to solve ostealgia. They actually believe that “the materials will be natural, the longer the soaking, the more effective”.
Actually, most of the medicinal components in medicinal wine are hand-mixed by the people who make it. This will inevitably cause the problem of incorrect proportions. It is possible not to only lose the effect of health preservation, but also do harm to the body. Also, medicinal wine is not suitable for everyone. For example, hot-natured people who drink deer antler wine or ginseng wine might get internal heat aggravated and result in problems such as insomnia, constipation, and high blood pressure.
So, if we are to take care of our bodies, be suspicious of those wines that seem safe. The best thing is to try to cut down on the intake of alcohol or totally quit. If it really is tough to break off the drinking habit and the feeling of drinking, then you must also regulate the amount of alcohol you consume, pick out good quality alcohol made by regular manufacturers, and stay away from bad drinking habits such as drinking on an empty stomach or mixing alcohol.
Disclaimer: The following image/content has been generated by an Artificial Intelligence model and is not a photograph or a traditional human creation.
“Dr. Harnarayan Singh is a Neurosurgeon and Minimally Invasive spine surgeon. His areas of speciality are brain tumours(Glioblastomas, Gliomas, Astrocytomas etc), Spine tumours like Neurofibromas or Meningiomas, head injury, spine injury, Minimally invasive spine surgery for lumbar canal stenosis(MIS Lumbar decompression), Lumbar microdiscectomy, Cervical disc surgery, spondylolisthesis, and degenerative spinal disorders. He has special interest in keyhole or endoscopic brain and spine surgeries. He is available from Monday to Saturday, during working hours at Narayana Super Speciality hospital, Gurugram.”
