Bible Trivia - 4/3/2008

Question: Complete Paul’s advice to Timothy by putting one word in each blank: Take a little _______ for thy _______ sake.”?

Answer: Wine; stomach’s. (I Timothy 5:23)

Comments: As evidenced by this New Testament passage, wine has historically been used as a digestive aid. There are historical examples of wine’s health benefits such as the Paris cholera outbreaks of 1832 and 1849 when it was noted that wine drinkers had been spared from the disease.

The purported health benefits of wine are now being touted by the scientific community as well. In a 1995 study published in the British Medical Journal (BJM), Dr. Martin E. Weisse of West Virginia University conducted research suggesting one to two glasses of wine in conjunction with meals may help prevent food poisoning, dysentery, and so-called traveler's diarrhea. His research shows that wine is even better at wiping out bacteria better than bismuth salicylate (Pepto-Bismol). In the study, wine also outperformed solutions of tequila and ethanol.

Weisse contends that there is a compound in wine released during fermentation that kills bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella, and shigella. (Weisse M, et al. Wine as a digestive aid: Comparative antimicrobial effects of bismuth salicylate and red and white wine. British Medical Journal, 1995; 311:1457-1460.) The article can be read here.

Dr. Weisse explains, "for thousands of years, people have been saying that drinking wine with dinner aids digestion. . . and here we have an explanation why."

Critics claim Weisse’s study is flawed as it was limited to in vitro (test tube) antibacterial activity. The Center for Science in the Public Interest argues that the results from test tubes inadequately parallel the reaction within a human's digestive system. The group asserts that all the West Virginia doctor has proven is that wine in a glass kills bacteria, not that wine in a human being kills bacteria.

It is worth noting that the benefits are for moderate, not excessive, wine drinking. Even so, I have filed these facts under "Biblical facts that will never be preached in a Baptist church."