As unlikely as it may seem, wine is good for you – but only in moderation. Many people don’t really understand what moderation is because it is different for women and men, and whether you are having it with a meal or alone. Women have less water in their body and different enzymes than men, so they need to drink less. Moderation for women is one glass a day and for men, 2 glasses.
There have been many studies done on the health benefits of buying wine – mostly red wine – and some surprising results were noted. These results were only gained by those who kept to the moderate limit of wine consumption. So here is a list of benefits that were found by studies on the matter.
- Universities in Spain found there was a lower risk of depression for both men and women who drank from two to seven glasses of wine a week, even taking into account lifestyle variables.
- The University of Leicester UK found that the rate of colon cancer was reduced by 50% in people who were moderate wine drinkers.
- Harvard Medical School found that the resveratrol found in red wine has anti-aging properties. This is due to the skins of red grapes being included in the wine-making process. You can also get it from cranberries, blueberries and nuts, if you don’t drink wine. Procyanidins are also responsible for long life in wine drinkers as they help to keep the blood vessels healthy.
- While most other alcoholic drinks increases the risk of breast cancer, red wine has the opposite effect, according to a medical centre in the US. This is due to chemicals from the seeds and skins. Of course, you can eat red grapes fresh to get the same effect; it doesn’t have to be red wine.
- Another medical centre found that the consumption of red wine helps to slow down or prevent dementia. This study gathered data from 14 countries. It seems that resveratrol can also reduce the stickiness of blood platelets and this keeps the blood vessels in the brain open so that there is a good supply of blood to the brain.
- The resveratrol in red wine is also helpful in preventing macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy
- It helps to enhance lung function and guard against lung cancer. In fact, this is true of both red and white wine.
- The UC San Diego School of Medicine did a study that found moderate red wine reduced the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by half when compared to people who never drank wine.
There are many more ways in which red wine can protect your health. However, it was found that over-consumption reversed this process and actually caused a lot of health problems