Hello gorgeous. You're looking young and fresh and lovely! It must be all of that red wine you're drinking! Well, pour yourself another glass and we'll continue our lesson on the health benefits of red wine.
So last go 'round I went on about sulphites and red, and now you know there's nothing to worry your pretty heads about. Unless you have extreme sulphite sensitivities, you're free to swish and slurp to your heart's delight. And now I have even better news: there's stuff in red wine that's actually good for you.
Surely by now you've heard of the French Paradox. Basically it's the term we use instead of saying "those skinny French bitches eat fois gras and drink all day without having heart-attacks or gaining an ounce." Well, one of the cornerstones of that theory has to do with the fact that the French drink way more red wine than the rest of us.
So what the heck is in our ruby-juice that makes it so healthy? For starters, there's a compound called resveratrol. It's found in the skins of red grapes, and is particularly more concentrated in cool-climate grapes (think Burgundy instead of Bordeaux--sorry, sister). Resveratrol has been proven to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity and blood-sugar lowering properties, as well as cardiovascular benefits. Animal studies show that resveratrol extends the life span of yeast cells, fruit-flies, fish, mice and rats (okay, granted we humans are a little more complex than the above list, although I do have a few ex-boyfriends who are about as complex as a yeast cell). Currently there are human trials studying the effectiveness of resveratrol on melanoma and colon cancers. And it's been shown to be an effective treatment for inflammatory arthritis. There's not a crazy huge amount of resveratrol in red wine, but the good news is that it's bio-availability is better than if you take it as a supplement. It's also better if you savour instead of guzzle, but that's true of fine wine anyway, n'est pas?
The good news doesn't stop there. Wine has anti-coagulant properties; a glass at night can help prevent a heart attack the following day (effects are only good for 24hours). Wine is also full of something called procyanidin, which is thought to be a powerful antioxidant, and helps to prevent fat absorption. Recent studies show moderate wine consumption can help to ward off dementia. And happily, the natural anti-bacterial properties in alcohol can keep you from getting the scoots when you're off in other countries eating weird food and drinking germy water.
Now I know I don't need to tell you people this, but I'll say it anyway: the benefits of drinking red wine are based on MODERATE consumption. Overdo it and you'll undo all of the helpful stuff by replacing it with all of the crap that comes along with binge drinking. So don't be a ding-dong and end up like your (circle one)
Crazy Uncle/Neighbour/English teacher/Friend's Mother who yells at Wheel of Fortune/Wears nothing but saggy underpants/drinks in his car during spare/calls you sweetheart and wants you to sit on her lap whilst kicking the dog/stealing your underpants off the line/sucking on 15 Altoids at a time/wiping the vomit off her shirt. This is not you. Be sensible about it. At least most of the time.
I bought SO MUCH good wine on Friday, and I'm dying to tell you all about it! I tried a new grape yesterday and I have much to say about it. But it'll have to wait until after I come out of my turkey coma. Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians!
'Til next time,
Barb
N.B. There's a ton of information on this topic in the internet ocean. Here's a couple of links for reference if you want to investigate further:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resveratrol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_and_health
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Paradox
No comments:
Post a Comment