Plato may have been wiser than he knew when he said, "Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine was ever granted by the Gods to man." Those of us who have come to enjoy the variety and tastes that wine have to offer can now look to red wines for greater health benefits. Recent studies show that drinking one glass of red wine each day may have certain health benefits. Research indicates that moderate red... Read more >
One of the most studied antioxidants in red wines is resveratrol, a compound found in the seeds and skins of grapes. Red wine has a high concentration of resveratrol because the skins and seeds ferment in the grapes' juices during the red wine-making process. This prolonged contact during fermentation produces significant levels of resveratrol in the finished red wine. White wine also contains resveratrol, but the... Read more >
The antioxidants in red wines have been shown to provide certain health benefits. Antioxidants act like warriors, preventing the oxidation process in which reactive particles known as "free radicals" cause damage to healthy cells. For the moderate drinker, drinking one to two glasses of wine daily, the antioxidants in red wine offer some protection against heart disease.
Heart Disease and... Read more >
Another health benefit of red wines is its connection with cancer prevention. It seems the anti-cancer properties of resveratrol work on several different levels: minimizing the DNA mutations that lead to cancer, inducing cell death in cancer cells, and blocking the formation of new blood vessels that "feed" tumors. Large studies are still required to prove the cancer prevention properties of resveratrol, but... Read more >
Negative Health Effects of Alcohol Abuse: More Than Liver Cirrhosis
Liver cirrhosis as a result of alcohol abuse is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States. Individuals with a family history of alcohol problems should not begin drinking in response to any positive studies of the benefits of red wine, nor should those with pre-existing health conditions, including:
arrhythmias or... Read more >
ResourcesClement, M.V., Hipara, J. L., Chawdhury S. H., Pervaiz, S. (1998, August 1) Chemopreventive agent resveratrol, a natural product derived from grapes, triggers CD95 signaling-dependent apoptosis in human tumor cells. Blood, 92(3), 996-1002.Cos, P., De Bruyne, T., Apers, S., Vanden Berghe, D., Pieters, L., Vlietinck, A. J. (2003) Phytoestrogens: Recent developments. Planta Medica, 69, 589-599.Goldberg, I. J... Read more >
Recently, Morefocused quizzed people's health knowledge. Over 2,200 people tested themselves by answering questions about vitamins, fat intake, and exercise regiments. Most people got seven out of twelve questions correct (58 percent), translating into a borderline fail! See how you matched up…
These questions tended to stump people most often:
What is the maximum percentage of daily calories that... Read more >
morefocus recently surveyed people's opinions on wine consumption and health. Nearly 2,800 voiced their feelings on what moderation is, how much they consume, and how knowledge of wine's health benefits has altered their consumption. Overwhelmingly, 94 percent of respondents agreed that moderate consumption of red wine is beneficial to health.
In general, people's perception of "moderate"... Read more >