About Red Wine

If you like red wine, DRINK IT! It’s good for you because of its contents. But always remember that moderation is crucial. The guideline is about 2 glasses per day for men and about 1 glass per day for women. For pregnant women, it is not advisable to drink any beverages containing alcohol (please consult your doctor).

Red wine contains resveratrol which is very healthy to your heart. Heard of the “French Paradox”? The French has a culture of eating foods with high levels of fat, and they also have a very strong smoking culture. But they have a relatively low percentage of people developing heart diseases despite these unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle. They also have a lower obesity rate compared to other nations. How did they achieve this “miracle”? All thanks to their high red wine consumption.

Red wine is not only beneficial for your heart but there are also many other health benefits to it. It is also good for your spleen and has anti-cancer properties. People who are allergic to alcohol or have any reasons to not touch alcoholic beverages, you are not at the losing end. Alternatives like Chinese Pu-erh Tea, the South American Yerba Mate, or even black vinegar (similar to apple cider vinegar, popular in China and Japan) can have the health benefits of red wine.

 

Let's talk about how it is heart healthy, which is the main health benefit of drinking red wine.

How is it heart healthy?
Antioxidants in red wine, polyphenols, may help to protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart. Polyphenol called resveratrol is one substance in red wine that got the attention.

Resveratrol
It might be the key ingredient that helps prevent damage to our blood vessels which reduces "bad" cholesterol and prevent blood clots.

It has been tested in mice given reveratrol. It suggests that the antioxidant might also help to protect them from obesity and diabetes, both of which are strong risk factors for heart disease. However, those findings were reported only in mice and not in people.

Some research shows that resveratrol could be linked to a reduces risk of inflammation and blood clotting, which both of which can lead to heart disease. More research is needed before it's known whether resveratrol was the cause for the reduced risk.

Where is resveratrol found?
Resveratrol in red wine comes from the skin of grapes. This is because red wine is fermented with grape skins longer than white wine, thus, red wine contains more resveratrol. If you do not drink alcohol, simply eating grapes or drinking grape juice is another way to get resveratrol. Red and purple grape juices may have the same heart healthy benefits of red wine too!

Drink in moderation or not at all
Everything comes in moderation. Drinking too much instead of giving more benefits, it may cause adverse effect. Drinking too much increases your risk of high blood pressure, high triglycerides, liver damage, obseity, cancer and other problems. Drinking too much alcohol regularly can cause cardiomyopathy (weakened heart muscle) causing symptoms of heart failure in some people. It is recommended that if you have heart failure or a weak heart, you should avoid alcohol completely. Avoid or limit alcohol intake if you take aspirin daily (depending on your doctor advice). Avoid alcohol if you are pregnant too!

What does it mean by moderation? It means an average of two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women. The limit for men is higher because men generally weigh more and have more of an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol than women do.

(Information from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-wine/HB00089)