“Zombie Bees in British Columbia”
The term “zombie bees” refers to bees infected by a parasitic fly that causes them to move in erratic flight patterns during the night. There have been sightings of swarms of this parasite infected bees across the United States Pacific Northwest. You may ask yourself, “How is this relevant to my wine?” The infection often leads to colony collapse disorder, which puts an enormous amount of stress on pollinators.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Swarm+zombie+bees+believed+sighted/7307204/story.html
“Alcohol and Breast Cancer Link Complicated by Hormone Replacement Therapy”
A new study published by the American Association for Cancer Research medical journal challenges the idea that alcohol consumption alone is a major risk factor for breast cancer in post-menopausal women. The place of alcohol in health has been ferociously debated since introduction of alcohol as a medical remedy of early man. Recently studies have shown that women who are being treated with hormone replacement therapy while consuming alcohol are much more likely to develop cancer than their counterparts.
However, the moderate consumption of alcohol has still shown to have beneficial effects on heart disease, and antioxidant levels in the blood. While there have been many studies pertaining to the links between alcohol and cancer, none of them have been deemed conclusive.
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/47356
“Kiwi Sav Wins International Wine Award”
The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2011 by Marisco Vineyards in the Waihopai Valley was crowned the Best in Show Sauvignon Blanc Under $20 at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. The Decanter World Wine Awards received more than14,000 entries and were judged by 200 international wine experts.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/food-wine/news/article.cfm?c_id=206&objectid=10833252
“Positive Effects of Reservatrol Found in New Study”
A group of scientists from Arizona State University, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Harvard Medical School, tested the effects of resveratrol on the lifespan, learning ability, and food perception in honeybees. The research has shown that the consumption of resveratrol changes the decision of food consumption as well as the amount of calories consumed.
Reservatrol is an anti-oxidant, which opens up the discussion of whether or not the controlled consumption of wine could diminish the damaging effects of free-radicals on the body. It also could effect insulin activity as well, which leads activities such as muscle growth and the controlling of the metabolic rate.
“Moderate Alcohol Consumption may Prevent Bone Loss”
The study displayed similar results to the Framingham Heart Study, which showed that people who consume one to two drinks per day have higher bone mineral density compared to heavy drinkers and non-drinkers. Unfortunately, the findings of this study apply to women exclusively.
The findings appear to display that that alcohol may slow down the bone turnover rate during a women’s menopausal period. Jon Callaci, director of the Molecular and Cellular Bone Biology Laboratory says that, “Seven to nine drinks spread out over the course of a week may be beneficial for bone health, bit it is not a message you’d want to send to people under 25 who are still building bone mass.”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/07/12/156629783/nightly-glass-of-wine-may-protect-boomer-womens-bones
Prepared by Ricardo Adams
Andes Wines
andes@andeswines.com
