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Vin et Santé

Text quoted from: http://www.multimania.com/socreate/sitevin3.html( 30 Jul. 2001)

La consommation de vin est le signe d'un "art de vivre", mais, si elle est pondérée et régulière, elle est aussi une "hygiène de vie". Après plusieurs millénaires d'expérience chez les Perses et les Egyptiens, Hippocrate (460-377 av. J.-C.) et Théophraste (372-287 av. J.-C.) commencent la codification de ce remède divin. Les siècles suivants verront les penseurs et les poètes romains (Celse, Dioscoride, Galien, Pétrone, Pline l'ancien) développer les nombreuses vertus du vin.

Le moyen-âge enfermera la connaissance et la spiritualité dans les monastères. C'est autour d'eux que continuera de croître la culture de la vigne et l'étude des bienfaits de son jus (la règle de Saint-Benoît précise 1/4 de litre de vin par jour).

La Renaissance donnera au monde d'illustres médecins qui tous recommanderont l'usage du vin.(Ambroise Paré, Paracelse). Le plus célèbre des écrivains-médecins, François Rabelais nous démontre qu'une consommation, parfois excessive, ne nuit pas à la qualité du raisonnement, ni à une joyeuse santé.

A partir du XVIIIe siècle, la pharmacopée précise les qualités spécifiques de chaque terroir (164 vins médicinaux). Le vin est reconnu comme antibiotique et les médecins anglais se fournissent dans le Bordelais. Les découvertes de Louis Pasteur ouvrent les portes à l'oenologie et à la "médecine du vin", en déclarant ce dernier "La plus saine et la plus hygiénique des boissons".

Au XXe siécle le vin sera de toutes les batailles: de Verdun à la prohibition en passant par la surproduction et la création des AOC, pour finir en apothéose avec le "French Paradox". La consommation de vin doit rester modérée et la médecine considère qu'un adulte de 70 kg ayant une activité moyenne peut boire au cours de 2 ou 3 repas une quantité globale de 0.5 litre de vin à 10°. Cette notion est à relativiser en tenant compte de la santé particulière de la personne et de la nature des aliments (les vitamines, les glucides et les lipides favorisent la digestion du vin).

Nous ne souhaitons pas nous substituer à la médecine traditionnelle et nous vous déconseillons de remplacer votre traitement médical par un savant dosage de "crus", sauf à obtenir la complicité de votre médecin!

Wine and Health

Consuming wine suggests a particular lifestyle; however, if done moderately and regularly, it is also a "healthy way of life". After a few thousand years of experience in Persia and Egypt, Hypocrathes (460-337 BC) and Theophrastus (372-287 BC) started codifying this divine remedy. In the following centuries, Roman poets and thinkers such as Celsus, Dioscoridus, Galien, Petronus and Pliny the Elder continued elaborating on the numerous virtues of wine.

In the Middle Ages, knowledge and spirituality were confined to monasteries where the growing of grapes and the study of its juice's goodness kept evolving. (St Benoît's rule states 1/4 litre of wine per day)

The Renaissance saw many famous doctors, all of whom recommanded the use of wine.(Ambroise Paré, Paracelsus). The most famous of doctor-writers, Francois Rabelais, shows us that consuming wine, sometimes even excessively, does not alter the reasoning capacities nor a jolly good health.

Starting in the 18th century, pharmacopeia precisely lists the specific qualities of each soil (164 medicinal wines). Wine is acknowleged as an antibiotic and English doctors get their supply from the Bordeaux region. Louis Pasteur's discoveries open the door to enology and to a medicine based on wine treatments when he declares wine to be "the most healthy and hygienic of beverages".

In the 20th century, wine fights all the battles: from Verdun to the Prohibition, throughout the period of over production and the creation of "AOC" status, finally culminating with the "French Paradox". Wine consumption should remain moderated, and doctors consider that an average 140 pound-adult can drink a total quantity of 0.5 litre of 10° wine per day, over 2 or 3 meals. This figure has to be altered considering the person's specific health and diet.(vitamins, glucids and lipids make digesting wine easier)

We do not wish to act as a substitute for traditionnal medicine, and we do not advise you to trade your medical treatment for a clever blend of vintages, unless you were to obtain the consent of your physician.

Discussion of terminology and resources used for this translation:

vertus
http://dictionaries.travlang.com/FrenchEnglish/ ( 30 Jul. 2001)
Result of search for "vertu": vertu = morality, vice
These terms seem to refer to "vertu" in a more moral, even religious sense than what is implied in the text.
http://eurodic.ip.lu:8086( 30 Jul. 2001)
vertu de= virtue of
http://www.virtuesofsoy.bigstep.com/( 30 Jul. 2001) is an American web site dedicated to "the virtues of soy", which shows that "virtues" can be attributed to food. I therefore chose to use this word as a translation for "vertu".

écrivain-médecin
http://davidhellerstein.tripod.com/mdwrit.htm ( 30 Jul. 2001)
This American site displays "how to become a doctor-writer" as a page title, which shows that "doctor-writer" can be used as a translation of "écrivain-medecin". Both languages use the same free association.

pharmacopée, vins médicinaux
Vocabulary search on http://eurodic.ip.lu:8086( 30 Jul. 2001):
pharmacopée= pharmacopeia, pharmacopoeia, pharmacy.

"pharmacy" is a general term, in fact used as the French word "pharmacie" to speak of the discipline as a whole.
"pharmacopeia" and "pharmacopoeia" seem to be two different spellings of the same word, and refer more specifically to the use of plants or other substances as a medication. For example, the American site http://www.herbal-ahp.org/ ( 13 Aug. 2001) uses this term to talk about a medicinal use of herbs and plants in a similar way that our text adresses a medicinal use of wine.
médicinaux: medicinal, medicated (eg soap).
Vin médicinal: medicinal wine, tonic wine.

Both terms ("medicinal wine" and "tonic wine") are commonly used. However, on this Brtish site http://www.buckfast.org.uk/TONIC.HTM ( 13 Aug. 2001) we read: "The Tonic was sold at the Abbey as medicinal wine" which seems to imply that "medicinal wine" is a more generic term, and makes a better translation for "vin médicinal".

surproduction
http://www.dairyfarmers.org/table/engl/home.html( 30 Jul. 2001) (Canadian bilingual site)
surproduction: surplus, over production
http://nfpc-cnpa.gc.ca/english/reports/annual_e.html ( 30 Jul. 2001) (Canada government site)
surproduction: over production

The term "over production" is more general, and suits the context better as it is meant to describe a period of time when over production would happen frequently.

AOC
After visiting a few sites, it appears that the technical term "AOC" (acronym of Appellation d'Origine Controlee) has no equivalent in English, and is kept as such. On http://www.le-guide.com/sauvagewine/wine.html( 30 Jul. 2001) for example, we read : "Although all our wines regularly pass the tasting examinations required to gain AOC status, only the very best is put into bottles."


July 2001