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Wine and Your Health
For the past few decades, researchers have invested a lot of time, money, and effort in studying the "French Paradox" and the possible health benefits of wine consumption.
Research has led scientist to conclude that there are indeed some noticeable cardiovascular health benefits, particularly from the moderate consumption of red wine (A consistent, 20-30% reduction in coronary heart disease risk).
Moderate consumption is defined as one glass per day for average-sized women and up to two glasses per day for averaged-sized men.
One of the exciting areas of interest is Resveratrol. It is produced in the skin of the grapes as a natural defense against both sun and humidity damage. Resveratrol has been suggested to have both, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, although there haven't been any large scale, empirical trials yet reporting with conclusive results on humans.
Another area of interest is in Flavonoids, which are also produced in the skin of the grapes. These poly-phenolic compounds have shown promise in lowering the risk of coronary heart disease by reducing the oxidation of bad (LDL) cholesterol.
Further studies have also shown that the Flavonoid, Quercetin (found in grape skins) is a particularly potent anti-oxidant because it seems to have all the right structural features for free radical scavenging activity.
Since both Flavonoids and Resveratrol are found in the skins of the grapes, and red wines are produced by prolonged contact with the skins after the grapes are crushed, it would make sense that red wines would contain more of these beneficial properties as compared to rose' or white wines which have little or no skin contact after crushing.
Research has led scientist to conclude that there are indeed some noticeable cardiovascular health benefits, particularly from the moderate consumption of red wine (A consistent, 20-30% reduction in coronary heart disease risk).
Moderate consumption is defined as one glass per day for average-sized women and up to two glasses per day for averaged-sized men.
One of the exciting areas of interest is Resveratrol. It is produced in the skin of the grapes as a natural defense against both sun and humidity damage. Resveratrol has been suggested to have both, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, although there haven't been any large scale, empirical trials yet reporting with conclusive results on humans.
Another area of interest is in Flavonoids, which are also produced in the skin of the grapes. These poly-phenolic compounds have shown promise in lowering the risk of coronary heart disease by reducing the oxidation of bad (LDL) cholesterol.
Further studies have also shown that the Flavonoid, Quercetin (found in grape skins) is a particularly potent anti-oxidant because it seems to have all the right structural features for free radical scavenging activity.
Since both Flavonoids and Resveratrol are found in the skins of the grapes, and red wines are produced by prolonged contact with the skins after the grapes are crushed, it would make sense that red wines would contain more of these beneficial properties as compared to rose' or white wines which have little or no skin contact after crushing.
