North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

The role of the food (or wine) industry is fairly important in funding research.  Way back when I was in school, the biochem department kept a list of funded research proposals, all from companies with an agenda – such as proving that wine or coffee is good for you.  At first I thought this was pretty distasteful, but as time has gone by I have seen the benefit.  Inquiries that would never otherwise get funded, do.  You can see an adversarial process in research papers.  Years ago the sugar industry didn’t like being blamed for obesity and other health problems; they funded research.  Research showed the dangers of a high fat diet.  The fats industry fought back with research of its own.  Now we have a much better understanding of the role of serum triglycerides in diabetes; the role of insulin resistance in obesity; the existence of metabolic syndrome, and more.  There were rumors and small studies about the effectiveness of grape compounds for years before wine industry money poured in, and now things that were suspected are confirmed; and the chemicals and fibers involved, and their methods of action, are better understood.

 

The negative part of this is science writers who lack skill and editors who lack restraint, leading to studies that are not-ready-for-prime time to be brought to the public’s attention, implying conclusions that the research just doesn’t support.  A test on five mice isn’t the same as the final clinical trial on a human population.  Then those preliminary studies are – in this scientifically adversarial (I mean the good sense of adversarial) environment – refuted.  You get a series like: Scientists find coffee is bad for you/good for you/bad for you/good for you… I wonder if it lowers the faith of the public in good science, who can’t always differentiate between – and aren’t always told – what’s proven, or what’s just hinted at, or whether a discovery of the workings of a small part of a biological system can be applied to a whole organism or a population.  

 

~ Stephen

 

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From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of rob hamilton
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 4:52 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] red wine and health

 

hey gang,

I wanted to hears some opinions on the whole red wine and health issue.
I hear more and more about how adding red wine to your diet is good for you...mine you don't have any issue with wine, but why not study more the source of the wine...grapes?

Please correct me if I am wrong, but most of the nutritive value comes from the skin and seeds, though a good amount favors and colors the wine comes from this, for the most part, this "must" is thrown out after the first fermentation.

With the vast variety of grapes out there (not to mention my native muscidine which I'm told the seeds are processed into tablets for health stores), it would seem the we would hear about more research on the the WHOLE grape (skin pulp and seed) and which varieties have more value.

I may be over reacting, but do question the role of the wine industry in this kind of research, or is it because this is the way most grapes are used in our culture so it is best to study the final product?

Your thoughts?


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Now Zone 8a!! Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Fruits Club www.groups.yahoo.com/atlanta_fruits
North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX) www.NAFEX.org
Southern Fruit Fellowship (SFF) www.NAFEX.org/SFF
Southeastern Palm and Exotic Plant Society (SPEPS)
www.SPEPS.net
California Rare Fruit Growers
www.crfg.org

 

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