While recently dining out with some good friends, I noticed that “Jane” was not drinking her usual white wine. She was, in fact, drinking red wine. This would not be unusual except for the fact that Jane has complained more than once that she doesn’t like the taste of red wine.
Jane told me that she’d recently read that drinking red wine is beneficial to one’s health, specifically, the heart.
I was not surprised by this information. I’ve known for years that there has been proven health benefits to drinking red wine in moderation. This means one glass per day for women and two for men.
I’ve read studies dealing specifically with Mediterranean countries. The studies’ participants all had high fat diets but low LDL (bad) cholesteral and high HDL (good) cholesteral. They also reported lowered blood pressure. Researchers found that what each participant had in common was the fact that they all drank red wine in moderation.
It is thought that resveratrol and flavonoids, two antioxidants found in the seeds and skin of the red wine grape (also included in fermentation, unlike white wine) are responsible for these health benefits.
Resveratrol is responsible for raising HDL cholesterol. This helps prevent blood clots. Flavonoids help prevent plaque from forming in arteries, in addition to helping prevent blood clots.
New research, though, has found that white wine and other types of alcohol are showing similar results. One particular study even indicated that white wine is more beneficial for health than red because the molecules in white wine are smaller and are more easily absorbed.
While I’m always interested whenever studies show promising health benefits from traditionally bad habits like alcohol consumption, but I also tend to take it with a grain of salt. Just how beneficial are these “health benefits” compared to the ill effects?
Yes, there is plenty of evidence to suggest health benefits of drinking in moderation; however, EVERY article promoting this evidence stressed that drinking alcohol to excess caused health problems which far outweighed any heart benefits the wine might have.
Drinking in excess can lead to alcohol addiction, obesity, high blood pressure and damage to the major organs including the liver and heart. If you don’t already drink alcohol, research indicates you shouldn’t. If you drink in moderation, stay with moderation.
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