Take a look at the findings in the article below then take a walk to your wine cellar. (As if you needed an excuse...)
Cheers to your health!
Excerpt from: Red Wine And The Healthly Lifestyle
Dr. John Fischer
The salutary benefits obtained by drinking red wine
come from two different mechanisms. One is from alcohol; the other is
from health-giving compounds, called polyphenols. Polyphenols are found
in the pigments of fruits and vegetables and are found in concentrated
amounts in red wine. One of the most convincing demonstrations relating
to the health benefits of wine is the “French Paradox.”
Dr.
Renaud and Dr. Ellison of Boston University noted that the wine-drinking
French smoked more, ate more saturated fats, and exercised less than
people in the United States, yet have well over one-third fewer heart
attacks. These men also had a diet that included olive oil, nuts,
processed milk products (they drank little whole-milk), vegetables, and
fruits. Was it the diet or the wine? Probably both.
There are a
large numbers of studies that have demonstrated the many health benefits
associated with the moderate consumption of wine. Moderation is the key
word, because over consumption is decidedly unhealthy: binge drink
entails an even unhealthier statistic. Moderate consumption is up to
two five ounce glasses/day of red wine for men, and one five ounce glass
for women. Bigger men may be able to push this limit to up to ½ bottle,
but no more. The difference in amounts between men and women has a
physiologic bases that is beyond the scope of this article.
The
health benefits from drinking wine as related to the heart and blood
vessels are well recognized in medical literature. There is, without any
doubt, a significant decrease in the incidence of heart attacks,
congestive heart failure, strokes, and peripheral vascular disease in
individuals who are moderate consumers of red wine. What’s more, even
teetotalers or casual drinkers who have a history of heart or blood
vessel disease will increase their longevity if they start drinking red
wine in moderation.
Newer research has demonstrated many other
less known salutary effects in many other organ system of the body.
Several studies indicate that the incidence of cancers of the lung,
pancreas, stomach, kidney, prostate, ovary, and lymph nodes are
decreased in moderate wine consumers.
Degenerative neurological diseases
such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease have a
substantially lower incidence associated with the consumption of as
little as one glass (5 oz.) of red wine per day.
Wine is
beneficial in decreasing the incidence of several other conditions such
as gall stones, kidney stones, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and
arthritis. Recent studies also suggest that the incidence of diseases
such as the common cold, periodontal disease, and age related deafness
may be decreased by the moderate consumption of red wine. Drinking red
wine in moderation may even be helpful in the struggle to lose or
maintain weight.
In both men and women, there
is a decrease in overall mortality rate and a concomitant increase in
longevity by several years associated with the moderate consumption of
red wine. Another interesting fact is that the incidence of DWI’s in
wine drinkers is much lower than in imbibers of beer or spirit. Beer is
typically the beverage of the impaired driver. Drinking red wine not
only fits in with but augments a healthy lifestyle.
The findings
cited above are for a large part statistical analyses that may be in a
state of flux. Nevertheless, many studies such as the effects on the
heart and blood vessels have stood the test of time, and their stated
health-giving effects are well documented and very convincing.
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