Wine and Your Health
We've all heard the claims, a glass of red wine once a day is good for your health. Just look at the French, they do nothing but eat fatty foods and drink wine with each meal, yet they manage to suffer from lower levels of heart disease than other nationalities. So, can it really be true, is wine really good for your health?
Of course, the first thing to keep in mind is moderation. Enjoying a bottle or two everyday will most certainly hinder your health rather than improve it. However, moderate consumption of red wine has been scientifically shown to be beneficial to your overall health. Men should drink no more than two glasses and women no more than one glass per day to receive the health benefits of wine. Consuming more than that will tip the scales towards unhealthy, so more is not necessarily better when it comes to drinking wine for better health.
Red wine grapes have naturally occurring anti-oxidants in them which are thought to prevent cells from becoming damaged and may result in a healthier body and longer life. Red wine grapes also contain chemical compounds that have been shown to strengthen your immune system, prevent cancer, and protect against heart disease. It’s also been found that the alcohol in wine helps to lower your bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise your good cholesterol (HDL). Recent scientific studies are also analyzing the effects of red wine on our brain functions, including preventing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
As far as the nutritional benefits are concerned, most wines have little or no nutrients that our bodies can absorb. They have few vitamins and minerals that could nutritionally benefit our bodies, so you won’t want to replace a glass of wine for your daily fruit serving. However, all wines are fat-free, cholesterol-free, low in sodium, and have few calories per individual serving.
Unfortunately, white wines don’t seem to hold the same health benefits that red wines do. This is largely due to the fact that most of the health-promoting compounds exist in the skins and seeds of the grape. Since red wines are fermented with these skins and seeds intact and white wines are fermented without them, white wine just doesn’t seem to hold up health wise next to the red wine varieties.
As with most things, not all people will benefit from a daily dose of red wine. People with digestive or urinary tract problems, liver or kidney disease, ulcers, epilepsy, alcoholism, or women with a history of breast cancer should not drink wine. Ask your doctor for advice before drinking wine for its healthy benefits.
While drinking wine for your health may in fact help you to live a longer, healthier life, perhaps one of the most important health benefits is simply the sheer joy you can experience while drinking a good, clean, flavorful glass of wine. What could be better for your health than the smile you’ll wear on your face as a fine wine passes through your lips? Here’s to your health!
