[tiffanyh]

Which is interesting because there’s a lot of Mediterranean cultures that drink after every meal (lunch & dinner).

And the reason is “for digestion”.

So this would suggest the opposite effect is happening. Drinking actually hurts digestion.

[kjellsbells]

The digestif isnt the wine you drink at dinner though, it's the (different) wine you drink after dinner, and it really is very different. For example: small prosecco before dinner, then red or white wine with the food, and then a Fernet Branca at the end of the meal.

Digestifs seem to often have a bitter or aniseed element in them. I wonder if that is now known to have a legitimate scientific basis, or if it's just some kind of Mediterranean historical accident.

[dyauspitr]

The alcohol is still just alcohol. It’s doesn’t matter what variety of grape it comes from.

[debugnik]

> And the reason is “for digestion”.

This is an excuse a few use to justify drinking wine when they know it's "otherwise" unhealthy, but most people here who drink do so simply because they like it.

[mewpmewp2]

I like drinking, but of course this means I also like coming up with weird excuses for why to drink.

[ipaddr]

Fermenting grapes is different than any alcohol.

[resoluteteeth]

Is it? There has been a lot of research on stuff like antioxidants in wine but as far as I can tell that's largely because of older observational health studies on purporting to show a positive effect from moderate wine consumption which has disappeared in more recent studies that did a better job controlling for confounding factors (like many people who don't drink at all being former alcoholics or having other health issues) which have shown that any alcohol consumption is harmful.

[tiffanyh]

I wasn’t thinking wine.

More like Ouzo in Greece.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouzo#:~:text=Ouzo%2520(Greek%2....