Am I the only one who is going to say it? There is no kindness in sugar coating a problem. Setting aside the obvious fact of all those nonnutritive calories for a second, let's consider that a bottle of wine per night is not just 'liking' something. It's an addiction. My advice is to cut out all alcohol for a while at least and break your addiction. After that, keep consumption to only twice per week. If you can't keep it to twice a week (or keep finding excuses not to do it), then you will (or should) know for sure that you are an alcoholic. And that is not paleo!

a) A bottle a night is too much. Period. A glass or two, and you'll be fine but I'd encourage you to go a month or two without (or maybe a biweekly thing) to give your body a chance to heal. Try to keep the wine a couple hours away from bed time as the alcohol system shuts off the bodies ability to produce growth hormone which is needed in the first hours of sleep. If you can't go without, please cut down for your own sake.

b) I don't have a great answer.

c)Get your D levels tested. See if you're chronically low. My mom just got hers tested. She was rocking a 12 so her doctor bumped her up to a 20,000 IUs a day for a month. Typical dosage will be around 1,000 to 2,000 IUs (edit probably more like 2000 to 4000) depending on a number of factors. I personally use the vitamin d drops from Carlsons. It makes me feel like I'm not just popping a pill. You can use the money you save by cutting back on the wine to pay for the testing.

Wow, a bottle a night seems like a lot. I'd strongly recommend cutting that down. Other than that, red wine is fine.

Since wine is natural and made from fruit, I would say it is OK in moderation. Obviously we know the polyphenols in red wine has high antioxidant properties, anticancer, etc. so I say drink it IN MODERATION. Now a bottle per night, that is too much. There is a high probability that wine and other fermented products were used by our ancestors thousands of years ago. Off hand I cannot provide you with the research for it although I am sure it is a mouse click away.

Fasting, there is too much to explain about it as far as insulin sensitivity and how our ancestors fasted during long days and nights of hunting. Again, all this info is a mouse click away. Check out Robb Wolf. He is the go-to go on the paleo lifestyle along with Loren Cordain of course.

Vitamin D, the mother of all vitamins. In fact, latest research shows it is actually considered a hormone. Name a disease-it is linked to low levels of vitamin D. Cancer rates are associated with low D. Elite athletes that supplement with D, as compared to those who dont, have better balance, better coordination, more strength, more endurance, etc. Even the common cold anf the flu are linked to low D. This is one supplement that everyone needs to be on. You can get it from fatty fish ( salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines), eggs and cod liver oil. It is also synthesized in the stratum basale and stratum spinosum layers of the skin. So all this jargon about avoiding the sun is a crock! Unless you are pale as can be, have freckles and are a red head.

The RDA of Vit D is 400IU. That is the bare minimum to prevent rickets. I recommend supplementing 1000-2000IU/day. Take the D with fat containg foods as it is fat soluble-nuts, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, fish. Not all supplements are created equal. You want to purchase a company that is third party regulated. i.e. dont purchase from a GNC , walmart , target etc. Garden of life is a great whole food organic product regulated by a third party.

I will take a crack at IF, but this is super simple minded and you should, as always, do your own research.

Insulin stays active in your system for at least 6 to 8 hours after it is released in response to a meal. That means insulin is still there causing your tissues to react. Eating lower carb reduces but does not prevent the release of insulin.

What happens over time is that this background level becomes like a tar weight on a scale and your body stops responding to these low background levels of insulin.

Fasting gives your body time to clear the insulin and overtime helps you create a new normal that is less elevated by these background releases of insulin.

It is a way to hit the reset button, but it is not an instant thing and doesn't work well for everyone.

According to Dr. Lustig (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM), the effects of fructose on your body are like alcohol without the buzz. He says most people can probably tolerate about 50g of fructose daily without serious metabolic effects. If you look at a bottle of wine (750ml ~= 750g) at 12% alcohol, that's about 90g of alcohol, or nearly two times the limit. As a member of the bottle-a-day club, the math doesn't please me either but I've been limiting the number of days per week that I have wine (I consume approximately zero fructose). I've been growing my selection of non-caffeinated teas as a substitute.

Vitamin D: Until I can get tested, I'm taking 10k IU/day, in 5k caps from Whole Foods. From what I've read this amount, while large, is well below toxicity levels. I haven't had any colds/flus/etc. in the 3 months since I started, and this is in a house with 3 school age kids and a teacher wife who bring home every bug in town.

Welcome James :)

1. A bottle of red wine a night ? Hm, if looking from a weight loss stand of view, 1000 ml red wine comes out at 850 kCal. Might help with that weight loss ;) As for discussions on alcohol, type that in search window in the right corner. I presume it's not Paleo but again presume that most "Paleos" do drink it. Quality red wine is better than beer but with those amounts I don't think you can gain anything positive from any type.

2. Right top corner "fasting" or wait for someone more willing.

3. It's a popular opinion that vit D supplementation in necessarry with most, so starting with 10000 UI would be 0K but get yourself tested first, just to know your current level. Dose is usually about 5k-15k per day.

And remember "We will construct a series of breathing apparatus with kelp".

A bottle of wine every night is definitely a little over the top, so yes. You gotta get a handle on that. Also, drinking alcohol at night will affect 2 other key issues: 1. your sleep 2. your ability to BURN FAT. Just getting rid of the nightly wine binge will do wonders for your belly fat. But in moderation, red wine is acceptable. I strongly recommend Robb Wolf's new book, Paleo Solution. All the answers to your questions can be found there. It's a great resource... and no, I don't get royalties for sales, unfortunately... just a fan. :) Cheers!

I agree - too much wine! Whole Foods sells some nice organic (pesticide free) ones for a reasonable price. It should help reduce toxin load, but a glass or two max. IF - haven't done, due to some major blood sugar and IR issues. Vitamin D - send away for a test (grassroots vitamin D organization). It costs $65 and gives you a baseline. Most say at least 50 for optimum health. There are also formulas for how to raise, but I think that those are bogus, because everyone metabolizes different, so I think it is trial and test and trial again. I had a 38 recently, so I am trying 4000 a day. Wondering if I should bump it up?

Way to go on cutting out wine...... it will help immensely. I can think of 12 reasons to stop. Also, the song, "Lead me" Go get 'em.

Ikco, I cannot figure out how to directly answer your question so I will just post on here. I recommended 1-2k IU knowing that it is a low amount. I did so because I do not know the individual and their lifestlye, body composition, family history etc. Typically I recommend upwards of 10,000 I.U. I personally take 4K IU/day, but I eat wild salmon 2-3 times a week,wild cod 2 times a week and plenty of eggs. I live in Florida so I get plenty of sun.