The benefits of wine are hotly debated. After all, if it’s not consumed in moderation, it has a substantial negative impact to your health.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who cites the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate alcohol consumption is defined as 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. The difference is due to men being (typically) larger in size and the way each gender metabolizes alcohol.
In the case of a glass of wine, one drink is five ounces. If you follow the recommended amounts, wine’s impact on your heart is well proven.
For almost 50 years, the study of moderate wine drinking and improved heart health has been extensively studied. In some studies, the benefits of wine in moderation have reduced the risk of heart attack by up to 35% in participants (compared to non-drinkers). It also acts as a mild blood thinner, which is an excellent (and natural) way to help improve cholesterol and triglyceride results. A far better choice than statins.
If you’re not allergic to grapes and already enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, then you’re already doing something great for your heart.
An article on Medical News Today summed it up as, “Wine, and especially red wine, has been studied extensively. Evidence suggests that moderate consumption may help people live longer, protect against certain cancers, improve mental health, and enhance heart health.”
Wine is Packed with Antioxidants
You know fruits and vegetables are healthy and beneficial for your body. Over the last decade, researchers around the world have done extensive studies that scientifically prove just how good they are for your entire body, inside and out.
Some are even better for us than others.
The skins and seeds of grapes are a rich source of antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols. Long known to help combat autoimmune disorders and strengthen your bones, polyphenols also have been proven to have amazing disease-fighting abilities.
The scientific community now recognizes long-term, free radical damage (and the rampant inflammation it triggers) as one of the leading causes of most major disease like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, dementia, and even mental health.
Free radicals are formed when your body is attacked by an invading force such as pollution, cigarette smoke, even radiation from the sun. These harmful forces cause damage to your body’s molecules, literally breaking them apart.
Seeking to maintain the natural balance and harmony of your body, these molecules will do whatever is necessary to reform, even if that means stealing an electron from neighboring healthy molecules to do so.
As you can imagine, over time, this produces a cascade effect. The damaged molecules begin to disrupt the cell they try to bond to. Once the cell is disrupted, it may begin dividing uncontrollably which is the process that leads to cancer.
When wine is fermented, the polyphenols in the grapes are dissolved into it. This creates a liquid antioxidant. Red wine contains more polyphenols than white due to the fermentation process. Incredibly, this even applies to non-alcoholic red wines! White wine and champagne still have excellent polyphenols and other powerful antioxidants to offer, just not as much.
The Benefits of Wine for Health and Longevity
Scientists have said for years that wine is good for your heart. Now there are studies coming out every day proving that vino can actually do good things for your entire body.
- Raises your blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids
- Decreases bacteria in the mouth
- Improves blood vessel health
- Helps protect nerves in the brain during stroke
- Aids in weight management
- Slows age-related macular degeneration
- Protective against some forms of cancer (breast, prostate, and colon)
- Boosts overall health of the gut microbiome
- Improves lung function for those with lung cancer
- Protects against mild sun damage from inside
- Lowers risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Resveratrol, the active compound in wine and a polyphenol commonly known as a plant antibiotic, has properties that are simply astounding.
With manmade antibiotics, the human body adapts to them, ultimately becoming resistant. This results in superbugs that your body has no ability to fight. Bacteria do not adapt to resveratrol – they have no way to mutate and resist it.
Wine – in moderation – is good for you. It’s healthy for your heart, reduces your risk of dementia, and can even protect your brain from damage after a stroke.
The pharmaceutical companies don’t want to know anything about natural (and effective) remedies that the average consumer can use to treat themselves. If you take steps to prevent disease, they lose billions of dollars every year in drug sales. That you might enjoy yourself with a lovely glass of wine while affecting their profits probably makes them angry.
To stop disease, keep your body healthy, and live a long and healthy life…there is no magic solution. However, there are steps you can take – such as a lovely glass of wine – that can make small changes inside you with powerful results.
The benefits of wine are indeed extensive. The flavor is delicious (if you’re a fan), it makes you feel good, and it may very well have the ability to protect and heal your body from disease.