Everything in Moderation?

In the 1990s, North Americans first heard the term "French Paradox," which refers to the fact that, despite their fatty diet, the French have low rates of heart disease and obesity – a happy circumstance generally attributed to their consumption of wine. Proponents of the grape had their side further bolstered by the publication of a study in the November 18, 1999 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, showing that light to moderate consumption of alcohol (whether wine, beer, or liquor) can reduce (in men) the overall risk of stroke by 21% and the risk of ischemic stroke by 23%. Other studies have since shown similar conclusions.

While the health benefits of alcohol may have been shocking news to us, it was not news to the inhabitants of a medieval or Renaissance European city, for whom both beverages were dietary staples. So if beer and wine are on the verge of making a comeback today, then a bit of historical reflection is in order.

From Tavern to City Hall to Monastery

The legend of the Meistertrunk, or championship drinking contest, of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany might act as a guide.

During the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), the city was besieged by the troops of General Tilly of the Catholic League. Tilly's troops were known for their cruelty, and they promised the citizenry a brutal occupation. General Tilly himself boasted to Rothenburg's council: "The world belongs to the mighty! Prost! And just as I leave this mug of wine, so too will I leave your city – empty and dry!" But try as he might, Tilly couldn't empty the mug, and in order to save his reputation, he challenged the councilors to do so themselves. If one of them could empty it in a single swig, Tilly promised that his troops would leave the city unharmed. Legend has it that Rothenburg's mayor took up the challenge and the mug, and, with a mighty effort, saved his city. Then, so the story goes, he promptly passed out.

Modern pro-alcohol arguments that laud the fact that alcohol, in general, raises good cholesterol and that beer, specifically, is high in vitamin B6 would have been irrelevant to medieval city-dwellers. Of more value to them was the fact that the distilling process itself meant that alcohol was one of the few available sources of unpolluted water.

Beer and wine were also necessary parts of meals. The most important meal then, as today, was breakfast. And in a city such as the above-mentioned Rothenburg, at the time of General Tilly's siege, breakfast would have consisted of soup, bread, a meat dish, beer, and wine. Also in 17th century Germany, Bavarian monks brewed a particularly strong, dark beer (today known as "bock" beer) during the Lenten fast as a source of nourishment. Provisions for the average soldier during the Thirty Years War included oats, rye, wheat, bacon, bread, and – not surprisingly – beer and wine.

Of course, the availability and social sanction of alcohol tended to engender indulgence, and according to Christoph Scheurl, a feast held in 1525 in Nuremberg in honor of the humanist Melancthon included 2.5 liters (84.5 ounces, or over half a gallon) of wine per guest.

It seems the upper classes of European society indulged just as much as the lower – a situation which likely made for lively times at court and led to interesting diplomatic dilemmas. Foreign nobility were particularly adverse to taking part in feasts and celebrations in Germany. Some even protested to Emperor Charles V (1500–1558), and at one point requested that he make excessive drinking a punishable offence. Charles's response to their entreaty: "That is as impossible a task for me, as it would be to stop the Spanish from stealing."

So while the story of the championship drinking contest can serve as an example of the benefits of beer and wine for "civil health" (understood in an admittedly broad sense), a likely more accurate visual record has been provided by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, whose famous painting, The Land of Cockaigne (1567), depicts the various strata of medieval European society lying prostrate beneath a table and looking somewhat dazed.

Back to the Present: Jumping on the Beer Barrel – er, Bandwagon

Of course, the key to the current promotion of the benefits of beer and wine to lessen the risk of stroke lies in the phrase "light to moderate consumption." It would be important to point out that in some cases – such as for individuals suffering from hypertriglyceridemia – alcohol in the blood can have the opposite effect and actually increase the risk of a stroke.

Nonetheless, breweries in Europe have now hitched their proverbial bandwagons to the current research, and in Germany, an "anti-aging" beer is on the market. While in Switzerland, a beer brewed with cheese from local, Alps-raised cows is marketed as helpful in reducing the risk of heart attacks because of its high content of omega-3 fatty acids.

So if you are presented with 2.5 liters of wine at your next dinner party, keep in mind one word: moderation. If you are being asked to sacrifice your liver to save your town from marauding soldiers, however …

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