Drinking a glass of fine wine during a night out with friends, a way to reward after a job well done at work, to relax, to elevate your dining experience, or to drink your favorite vino just for the fun of it. You will never run out of reasons to enjoy a nice glass of red wine, let’s say from a bottle of 2004 Screaming Eagle. Not only that, you can choose from a plethora of wines available in the market, so finding your favorite can be a hard thing to do.
However, if you’re a health-conscious person, you’ve probably been refraining from drinking even a cup of wine. Well, worry no further. There are lots of reasons why you should drink wine for health purposes, and here are some of them.
Rich in Antioxidants
There are a lot of foods and beverages that are rich with antioxidants, and yes, wine is among them. But what are antioxidants, and how do they affect our body?
Antioxidants are compounds that prevent inflammation and oxidative stress caused by cellular damage. Oxidative stress is when antioxidants and free radicals have are in imbalance, causing damage to your cells.
Since red wine has a higher level of antioxidants, many people have been picking them over white wines. Red wine grapes are more enriched with polyphenols. These are antioxidants that are known to reduce the effects of inflammation and oxidative stress.
With a high antioxidant level, the risk of diseases can be reduced by significant levels. Diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s can be avoided if you drink red wines that typically have high levels of antioxidants.
Reduces the chance of having a stroke
A stroke is when a blood clot occurs in one of your arteries – which will reduce the level of oxygen carried to your brain. Moderate consumption of wine will help prevent a stroke.
Drinking wine or any alcohol, in general, makes your blood thinner, reducing the chances of having a blood clot in one of your essential arteries or blood vessels.
Red wine, in particular, acts as a blood thinner that can be compared to the effects of aspirin because of its resveratrol. Resveratrol can be found on grape skins.
A piece of advice, though, as light to moderate consumption can reduce your risks of having a stroke, heavy drinking can do the exact opposite. Instead of providing benefits, too much wine can lead to heart problems, and yes, even stroke.
Improves Memory
If you have a problem forgetting things, drinking a glass of wine might help you with improving your memory. According to one study, those who drank a glass of red wine per day had better memories than those who didn’t drink at all. This is due to red wine’s qualities, reducing inflammation and clots in the blood vessels. Inflammation and clots can affect cognitive skills, which can be linked to memory.
Lowers Cholesterol
If you have a problem with high cholesterol, drinking wine can also help you. Wine contains procyanidins that promote heart health and lower cholesterol. Wine also contains resveratrol that reduces your LDL or bad cholesterol while also increasing HDL, or you guess it, the good cholesterol. Having said that, light to medium consumption of wine will keep your cholesterol level safe.
Reduces Weight
If you are on the heavy side of the scale, you should consider drinking wine to lose some weight. Studies have shown that people who indulge themselves in drinking wine in a daily manner have lower body mass.
Also, a significant number of them have much thinner waistlines and have reduced abdominal fat. After drinking a glass of red wine, your body will be encouraged to burn extra calories that last up to an hour and a half.
Downsides
After reading this post, you might go to your store and start to binge drink wine. Please, don’t. Although the facts mentioned above are all true and proven, remember that they only come from light to moderate drinking. This is the reason why TV ads about alcohol always end with a reminder saying ‘drink responsibly.’
Take note that excessive alcohol drinking can lead to complications like heart diseases, alcohol poisoning, etc. Not only that, but they could also lead to diabetes, cancer, and especially liver complications.
Takeaway
A glass should always contain 5 ounces of wine. Also, moderate drinking means drinking alcohol that is medically acceptable. Men are allowed to drink only two cups of wine per day, and as for women, it’s only one. This might be too little for you, but hey, being healthy is more important than wine!
