THE PROVINCE - Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Tighten that tummy w/a red-wine bath
Vinotherapy is the latest trend in spa treatment
By Misty Harris
CanWest News Service
Spas & beauty clinics are reporting huge increases in women asking for red-wine therapy.
Vinotherapy purports to offer anti-aging & tightening effects, & is vying to be the modern woman's answer to surgical breast lifts & tummy tightening.
"There has been an incredible rise in (vinotherapy's) popularity," says Jessica Harcombe, director of marketing for the Brentwood Bay Lodge & Spa on Vancouver Island. Since Brentwood Bay introduced vinotherapy in late May, Harcombe says it has become 1 of the spa's most sought-after treatments.
"What keeps people coming back is the fact that it's unique & isn't offered in v. many Canadian regions."
Sheila Spear, director of the Spa @White Oak in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, was the 1st to trademark what she calls "vinotherapy" in Canada 3 years ago.
"It's cutting edge, in terms of trend-setting," Spear says. "Our biggest challenge is trying to forecast the increases in (wine related) spa services each year. We were running out of product for a while."
University of Guelph Professor Gopi Paliyath, an exert ont he health properties of red wine, isn't aware of direct evidence linking breast & tummy-firming w/wine. But based on research, he says, "there is a v.g. chance" vinotherapy lives up to its claims.
Flavanoids - - the major non-alcoholic components of wine - - are already credited w/biological effects ranging from a heightened capacity for antioxidants to higher plasma levels of g. cholesterol. & a scientific study published in the June issue of the journal NATURE shows a chemical found in red wine may hold the key to a longer, healthier life.
"Some of (wine's antioxidants) might penetrate the skin thru the membrane," Palliyath says of wine therapy, "& that may reduce the aging process."
Red wine treatments spanning everything from a "merlot wrap" to a "cabernet scrub" have since become fixtures on spa menus the world over.
But Dr. Gerry Predy, medical officer of health for Edmonton's capital region, says it's "a bit of stretch" that red wine has any cosmetic benefits.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm & a dash of strawberries please
carlotta
Tighten that tummy w/a red-wine bath
Vinotherapy is the latest trend in spa treatment
By Misty Harris
CanWest News Service
Spas & beauty clinics are reporting huge increases in women asking for red-wine therapy.
Vinotherapy purports to offer anti-aging & tightening effects, & is vying to be the modern woman's answer to surgical breast lifts & tummy tightening.
"There has been an incredible rise in (vinotherapy's) popularity," says Jessica Harcombe, director of marketing for the Brentwood Bay Lodge & Spa on Vancouver Island. Since Brentwood Bay introduced vinotherapy in late May, Harcombe says it has become 1 of the spa's most sought-after treatments.
"What keeps people coming back is the fact that it's unique & isn't offered in v. many Canadian regions."
Sheila Spear, director of the Spa @White Oak in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, was the 1st to trademark what she calls "vinotherapy" in Canada 3 years ago.
"It's cutting edge, in terms of trend-setting," Spear says. "Our biggest challenge is trying to forecast the increases in (wine related) spa services each year. We were running out of product for a while."
University of Guelph Professor Gopi Paliyath, an exert ont he health properties of red wine, isn't aware of direct evidence linking breast & tummy-firming w/wine. But based on research, he says, "there is a v.g. chance" vinotherapy lives up to its claims.
Flavanoids - - the major non-alcoholic components of wine - - are already credited w/biological effects ranging from a heightened capacity for antioxidants to higher plasma levels of g. cholesterol. & a scientific study published in the June issue of the journal NATURE shows a chemical found in red wine may hold the key to a longer, healthier life.
"Some of (wine's antioxidants) might penetrate the skin thru the membrane," Palliyath says of wine therapy, "& that may reduce the aging process."
Red wine treatments spanning everything from a "merlot wrap" to a "cabernet scrub" have since become fixtures on spa menus the world over.
But Dr. Gerry Predy, medical officer of health for Edmonton's capital region, says it's "a bit of stretch" that red wine has any cosmetic benefits.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm & a dash of strawberries please
carlotta
