Red Wine and Heart Health
Wine has a long history dating back about 8000 years to present day Iran. When reflecting on the history of wine my initial thought would be of ancient Greece or better yet when Cleopatra drank a glass of wine with Marc Anthony, dating at least 6500 years back in ancient Egypt. Since Roman times, wine was considered medicinal in small quantities. Infections of all sorts were no match against wine. If a Roman citizen was stricken by bad water or a food-borne illness, a glass of red wine was proven to kill off a variety of bacteria strains. It wasn’t until recently that scientific studies have validated all the previous history.
Could it be true that red wine has health benefits? For over the last 10 years dozens of studies have come to the forefront to confirm what was assumed to be true. In fact, in 1992 Harvard researchers concluded that moderate wine consumption lowered the risk of developing coronary heart disease. The study also confirmed a increase in HDL (good cholesterol) while there was a decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol). In 1980 a study out of Honolulu showed a 50% reduction in coronary heart disease. In must be noted that in most studies no more that two glasses of red wine were consumed daily.
So what is in red wine which makes it such a potent health benefit? The major antioxidant component in red wine is called resveratrol. Resveratrol is found exclusively in the skins and seeds of the red grape. In nature resveratrol protects the fruit against fungal infection, in the human body its action on the cardiovascular system would be preventing blood clots and reducing blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits.
In case you are not a wine drinker, relief is is sight as a 1999 study out of the University of Wisconsin showed that purple grape juice has similar effects on the body as wine does. The other option ,which may be the most logical of all options is to obtain the benefits of resveratrol by buying a Guaranteed Potency bottle of resveratrol in the capsule form. Each capsule has the nutritional benefit of 8-12 glasses of wine minus the alcohol. At Essentials for Health we keep several bottles of resveratrol on hand at all times. Keep this supplement in mind on your next trip to Essentials for Health.