Do you enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner? There may be more red wine benefits than you realize!Red wine benefits?? This is exciting news for red wine lovers everywhere. It is actually healthy for you! In fact, my father-in-law, who has heart disease, is suppose to drink a glass of red wine every evening with dinner. That's pretty big news when you live in a dry county! Moderate alcohol consumption in general has been proven to help raise HDL levels("good" cholesterol), lower blood pressure, reduce formation of blood clots and help prevent artery damage caused by high LDL levels ("bad" cholesterol). (Remember, moderate consumption means 2 drinks for men and one drink for the ladies.) But, red wine seems to have an even better affect on the body than other forms of alcohol according to a Danish study from 2000. Here are the red wine benefits found in the study: those who drank red wine had about half the risk of dying from heart disease as those who didn't. (This is also known as the "French Paradox"- The French are regular drinkers of red wine and have a relatively high diet of saturated fats, but low heart attack rates compared to the United States.) Other studies have shown mixed results. Some confirm the Danish findings while others say that red wine is no better than any other type of alcohol. More research is being done in this area, so stay tuned! The two main ingredients that have the most red wine benefits are flavonoids and resveratrol (which is a type of nonflavonoid found in grape skins and seeds). These ingredients are also found in dark grapes and dark grape juice. Flavonoids are antioxidants that have been shown to increase your HDL and to lower your risk of clogged arteries. But, Resveratrol is believed to be the key ingredient in red wine that makes it so heart healthy. It helps reduce the risk of blood clots, reduces LDL, prevents damage to blood vessels in your heart and helps maintain blood pressure. It is still unclear how much resveratrol is needed to make an impact on heart disease, but due to the negative affects of consuming too much alcohol, it's best to just have one or two glasses a day. Perhaps someday there will be a resveratrol pill for us all!
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