Top 7 Health Benefits of Red Wine

There was a woman named Jeanne Calmest that passed away in August 1997, peacefully in her sleep at the age of 123. She holds the record for longest living person ever recorded. She lived in France and witnessed the erection of the Eiffel Tower, survived two world wars, sold art supplies to Van Gogh and other impressionist artists.

Scientists have studied her looking to find what it was that kept her alive with such good quality of life. She embraced joie de vivre, which means she had a passion for life. She didn’t beat herself up over eating a croissant. She loved good, rich foods and included red wine in the diet every day. She was the French Paradox-the term given to the fact French people eat the richest foods, yet do not suffer the diseases we suffer from here. How can people live such long and healthy lives drinking wine every day?

Is There Something in Red Wine?

Resveratrol - just may be the “Fountain of Youth” discovery. There is a mountain of research that explores and extols the health benefits of this mystery compound. Resveratrol is found in blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, chocolate, and most significantly in the skins, pips and skins of red grapes. Resveratrol if a phytoalexin, which simply put, means it is a natural antibiotic that assists in the plants survival when it is under stress of fungal attack, drought, radiation (the sun) and inflammation. It makes perfect sense that this compound, when consumed by humans, would have a similar effect on us.

WAIT. Before you go and buy bottles of Reveratrol pills, studies have shown that people do not achieve the same benefits from a pill that they do from consuming the whole food. But then, why would someone choose a pill over a glass of red wine in the evening? (Baffles me….)

I’m not suggesting that we consume a bottle or two every night in hopes of never get cancer, develop cataracts, heart disease or dementia. But, I am justified in saying that my glass or two red wine every day is not bad for me. In fact, just the opposite, it’s doctors orders.

For this issue, I embraced my inner nerd girl and dove into research papers. I have chosen my top 7 healthy benefits of red wine consumption from the research. It is my belief that red wine, consumed in moderation, is a part of a healthy diet and helps us live longer, and have a better quality of life. It’s just my opinion, but I have found scientific studies that back my position.

7. Reduced Risk of Cataracts

This one surprised me a bit. I never associated wine with the development of cataracts. The science, however, exists. Research was published in 2003 from Iceland that cited wine drinkers have a 32 percent less likely chance of developing cataracts than non-drinkers and of those who consume alcohol, wine drinkers have a 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than beer drinkers (sorry Shiner fans).

Another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicated a direct association between moderate wine consumption and a decreased risk for cataracts. They studied between 45 and 74 with developing macular changes and discovered wine consumption slowed the progression of those changes.

6. Reduced Risk of Colon Cancer and Breast Cancer

Although consuming alcohol is associated with an increased risk cancer, consumption of resveratrol has shown to reduce the rate of tumors in the human body. Theses finding were discussed at a 2012 conference in Denmark at the University of Leicester. The research created lab models that showed a 50% decrease. They are currently working of clinical trials.

Scientists from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that moderate, regular red wine consumption actually lower breast cancer risk. They found that chemicals in the skins and seeds of red wine do the same thing that aromatase inhibitors do. Aromatase inhibitors are used in breast cancer therapy. These properties also lower estrogen levels; higher estrogen levels cause cancer cell growth.

Now, I’m not advocating for drinking red wine instead of going for chemotherapy, it’s just that these researchers say it’s perfectly fine to have that glass of red wine in the evening.

5. Lowers Heart-Attack Risk

Harvard researchers are among the many scientists that have come to the conclusion that moderate consumption of red wine may be heart healthy. Daily wine consumption has shown elevated blood vessel function - it improves blood flow. That in turn improves the health of our heart.

4. Lowers Risk of Obesity

Scientists at the University of Ulm discovered that resveratrol prevented immature fat cells from fully maturing. This interferes with the bodies fat cells ability to grow and communicate with each other. The smaller the fat cells, the smaller we are.

3. Lowers LDL Cholesterol (that’s the bad one)

Scientists at the University of California, Davis identified a group of chemicals called saponins. Red wine contains these chemicals as well as resveratrol. These saponins are linked to lower cholesterol levels accord to the American Chemical Society’s publication in September 2003. Many other studies have shown that the phenolic compounds found in red wine inhibit the production of LDL cholesterol. Yet other published studies have shown that red wine inhibits the production of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) Combined, it seems that red wine has been proven to lower LDL levels. Pass the Malbec, please.

2. Lowers Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

This one is really important since San Antonio has one of the highest rates of Type 2 Diabetes in the country. Research published in the April 3, 2008 issue of Journal of Food Biochemistry showed that red wine inhibits the activity of the enzyme “alpha-glucosidase”. This enzyme’s job is to help the absorption of glucose (sugar) during digestion.

In 2014 the Journal of Nutrition published findings that people who ate foods containing flavonoids (yes, red wine has lots of them) have more insulin resistance and regulate their blood sugars better.

1. Slows Brain Decline

Just follow me on this one:

According to the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the development of amyloid proteins in the brain. They clump together and form toxic balls of varying shapes, adhering to the brain. This is what causes the cells to malfunction and die. Got it?

The bioactive compound EGCG and resveratrol distort the shapes of these amyloid balls and prevent them from binding. This keeps them from causing our brains to malfunction and our cells to die. So, drinking moderate amounts of red wine will help those who are prone to the development of Alzheimer’s. Perhaps, red wine just keeps the brain lubricated.

Let’s Wrap this up:

I did not write this article to suggest that everyone start drinking as their new year’s resolution. I nearly wanted to present the scientific evidence that shows moderate consumption of red wine has benefits for one’s health and longevity. It keeps our hearts healthy, our bodies cancer free, our weight in check, our metabolism humming along, our blood sugars regulated and our minds sharp.

I aspire to live as Jeanne Clement, healthy, mentally sharp and happy until her peaceful demise at 123 years of age. I pledge this year to live joie de vivre.

To Your Health,

CHEERS!

#wine #health #resveratrol