Wine Is Good For You

It has long been recognised that wine is good for you in moderation and some recent articles such as this one explain the benefits. The article says that:

 “Resveratrol, famously found in red wine, has now been shown to improve several key areas of metabolic health—including risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease—in a human study. (Up until now, the compound has only showed these promising results in animal trials.)”

“Eleven obese but otherwise healthy men were either given 150 mg of resVida (a 99% trans-resveratrol supplement) or a placebo daily.”

“After 30 days those taking the resveratrol showed marked improvement in metabolic health including a reduction in liver fat and blood sugar levels, both major risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes. Their blood sugar levels were 4.3 percent lower than the placebo group. In fact, compared to the placebo, they saw a 5.8 percent drop in triglycerides and 4.5 percent lower systolic blood pressure.”

Another article here extolls the virtues of wine even more enthusiastically, saying:

 “Wine has so many health benefits you’d think doctors would be prescribing the stuff by now. Drink a few glasses a week—particularly red, but white has benefits, too—and you’ll lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer.”

“Wine’s magic ingredients come from the skin of the grape. Resveratrol protects the body’s cells, keeping them young and strong. Saponins bind to bad cholesterol and usher it out of the body. And flavonoids interfere with the multiplication of cancer cells.”

This article goes on to also explain a bit about choosing a wine, and serving it to best advantage. Some quality reds, for example, need decanting in order to introduce oxygen into the wine to maximize the flavour and to separate the wine from the sediment.

The full explanation of how wine benefits us is not 100% clear, but resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant and alcohol is said to help improve blood flow. It seems that the skins of grapes contain many beneficial complex compounds and this may be why red wines seem to be the best for our health because they are fermented using the whole grapes, skin and all.

Whatever the mechanism there is little doubt that wine is good for you, provided you do not consume more than the recommended 2-4 glasses daily, whilst beer is less beneficial since it contains more calories and tends to push up our weight.