Is wine actually good for you?

NetFlorist did some research and found some interesting facts. It's up to you whether or not you swallow them.

Wine, like any thing else you digest, should be taken in moderation. Just as eating a large slab of chocolate a day is unhealthy, so is drinking eight bottles of wine a day. Wine, like anything else, can harm your body in large quantities. The key is moderation.

So, assuming that you drink a couple of glasses of wine with dinner every day, what benefits will this wine bring to your body? Current research has shown that wine reduces coronary heart disease incidence. This was known as the "French Paradox" for a while, because doctors couldn't figure out why cream-loving French weren't frequently dying from heart attacks. Apparently the wine alters the blood lipid levels, lowers the total cholesterol count, and raises the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. In essence, it keeps the blood vessels clean.

Newsweek reported in May 99 that a recent study showed how wine helps prevent ulcers. In a study of 1 800 people, the scientists tested for the presence of helico bacterpylori, which causes ulcer infections. Compared to non-drinkers, those who had one glass of wine a day had seven percent fewer of these bacteria. Those who drink two glasses a day had 18 percent and those who drank 3 or more glasses had one third fewer bacteria.

Recent studies also show that wine helps fight cancer. Wine contains resveratrol, which helps suppress cancer. The red grapes that go into red wine also have bioflavinoids, which are antioxidants and help prevent the onset of cancer. Wine is also shown to help cancer patients by relaxing them and helping them fight their disease.

More recent studies show that wine even helps prevent strokes. Scientists reckon that the alcohol breaks up blood clots and increases HDL ("good") cholesterol in the bloodstream. This keeps the arteries clean. Note that this helps with the common ischemic stroke, but not with the rare haemorrhage stroke, which is sudden bleeding in the brain.

The fact that an evening meal is accompanied by a drink which helps the body relax and unwind can help the mental transition between work and relaxation. Also, people fighting other illnesses can combat them better when calm and focused.

Researchers have found that those who regularly drink one to three glasses of wine a day are healthier than those who drink none (and healthier than those who drink more).

The bad news is that some people are sensitive to the natural sulphites found in wine - sulphites are higher in whites than in reds. Others get migraines from too much tannin, which is found mostly in red wines. But as you see, the news is mostly good – for those who imbibe in moderation.

To your good health!