Drink To Your Health

As you may have heard, wine is in, in more ways than one. Studies have shown that people who drink a moderate amount of red wine a day (1 drink for women, 2 for men) lower their risk of heart attack by as much as 50%, as well as prevent any more future heart attacks! Count me in.

Here’s how it works. When you drink a glass of red wine you are lowering your LDL cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol) while raising the HDL (the “good” cholesterol). This takes place because of  resveratrol, a natural plant antibiotic present in both the grape skin and seeds that is also responsible for preventing blood clots, reducing blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits, and may even help to reduce obesity and diabetes. As part of the Mediterranean Diet, followed by those in Italy and the South of France, red wine is hailed for these reasons; it comes has no surprise that the people in these regions have lower amounts of heart disease and are considered generally healthier.

Other than resveratrol, the other complex in wine responsible for health-giving properties are flavonoids. Flavonoids give red wine its antioxidant power as well as its plaque-removing capabilities within arteries. Flavonoids are also present in other foods such as oranges, grape juice, apples, onions, tea and cocoa.

So should we all break out our bottles and start pouring? Not quite. Though red wine has many heart-healthy benefits, people who don’t currently drink (due to medical reasons or past history) are advised not to start. There’s a fine line between what is healthy and what is detrimental, and for this reason women are only advised one glass of wine a day and men, two. Going overboard can destroy any health property that was once there and will only lead to a massive headache.