For some people and cultures, talking about wine has some negative connotation. For them, wine is equivalent to inebriation, which of course results to adverse effects in the body. But that happens only if taken carelessly. Little did they know that red wine, when taken moderately, provides the best health benefits.

Individuals who are sipping and enjoying a glass of wine everyday are most likely to actually enjoy good health and what it can bring. There are various colors of wines, and they all depend on the drupe of the variety of grapes. If the skin color of the drupe is red, then with the right procedure, it will develop red wine. Interestingly, the most health benefits of the grape, the most common source for red wine, are from the skin, stems and seeds, and not the juicy portion of the fruit. There are three phytonutrients, called polyphenols, concentrated in the skin, stems and seeds; they are the flavonoids, phenolic acid and resveratrol. The more the dark and strong the skin is, the higher is its content of these polyphenols.

Here are more reasons for you to enjoy your glass of wine daily:

• Red Wine has Antioxidant Properties

  Red wine is marketed these days for its antioxidant benefits. An antioxidant is a component that aids in the repair of damaged cells due to the effects of the byproducts of oxygen in the body that is significantly harmful. The antioxidant in grape is found in its skin, and it is called resveratrol. Resveratrol are hunters of free radicals. Free radicals are byproducts of the oxidation process. Inside our body, there is a constant chemical reaction that is happening that that will allow the electrons to move from a certain substance to an oxidizing agent. Thousands of free radicals are produced in the body every time there is oxidation and this will generate a chain reaction that will cause damage to body cells. Antioxidants, such as resveratrol in red wines, scavenge the free radicals, and this will stop the chain from forming. As an antioxidant, red wine may be called a reducing agent.

• Red Wine Helps with Cancer Prevention

  According to researchers, resveratrol, which is an antioxidant, destroys the cancer cells in the body and it can also improve the effectiveness of the various cancer treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation. A study published in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology has shown that when 50mcg/ml of resveratrol was applied to pancreatic cancer cells, both alone and with ongoing radiation therapy, it resulted to three things:

  • apoptosis or death of cancer cells
  • destruction of the source of energy of cancer cells that diminished the capability of the cancer cell to function
  • rendering the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy by obstructing the proteins that tried to resist the treatment.
  
  

  According to the chief of radiation oncology of University of Rochester Medical Center, Paul Okunieff, MD, consuming red wine for those undergoing chemotherapy or radiation is not prohibited. The biggest challenge though is in finding the right amount of resveratrol in red wine to produce a more effective result.

• Red Wine Promotes Heart Health

  The blood sample of 20 volunteers in one study was drawn, both before and after ingestion of grape products. These blood samples have shown that after taking red wine, the nitric oxide levels in the body increased; nitric oxide helps in the reduction of clot formation in the blood vessels. There is also evidence that platelet aggregation of the red blood cells diminished. Additionally, an increase in the antioxidant activity in plasma is observed, as well as an elevation in the levels of alpha-tocopherol, an antioxidant compound. This study demonstrated the fact that grape products have the capacity to prevent destruction of the LDL cholesterol.

  Although, considered by some as the bad cholesterol, LDL cholesterol is only bad during the events of its destruction by the free radicals, since the molecules that are produced during its confrontation with free radicals can cause damage to the arteries.

• Red Wine Helps Regulate Cholesterol Level

  Not only do grape and grape products, such as red wine, help in fighting cancer, evidences have shown that they can also lower cholesterol levels in the body. An antioxidant called pterostilbene is found to help in lowering cholesterol. When the USDA Agricultural Research Services scientists made a comparative study of pterostilbene, ciprofibrate (lipid-lowering drug) and resveratrol by observing the ability of these compounds to activate PPAR-alpha, a receptor site in cells responsible for the metabolism of lipids, such as cholesterol, it showed that pterostilbene is as effective as ciprofibrate, and more potent than resveratrol in PPAR-alpha activation. The more PPAR-alpha is activated, the more that the lipids, or cholesterols, are regulated.

• Red Wine Promotes Digestion

  Illnesses that are caused by food may be remedied with a glass of red wine. While antibiotics also cause damage the intestinal bacteria that promote health in digestion process, red wine will only damage the pathogenic bacteria and protect the beneficial bacteria. H. pylori, E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes are only some of the bacteria found to have promising outcome in the study of red wine as an aid in the digestion process. Additionally for fried food and canned food lovers, ingesting red wine can help in neutralizing the compounds found in food products that are stored for a long period of time and those that are fried. These compounds called LOOH (lipid hydroperoxide) and MDA (malonaldehyde) are not just toxic to the body; it can also cause several digestive issues. By taking red wine with these types of foods, digestion will be enhanced.

• Red Wine Helps with Weight Loss

  According to the creator of the South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston MD, who is also a cardiologist, ingesting alcohol, such as red wine, together with food have a stimulatory effect on one’s appetite. Red wine also has the capacity to reduce the emptying time of stomach, which will result to the reduction of food consumption that will eventually result to reduction of weight.

• Red Wine Promotes Better Sleep

  Italian researchers from the University of Milan have found that drinking red wine can enhance sleep. Red wine may contain alcohol which causes the depression of the part of the brain that induces sleep, but it also has ample amount of melatonin. Melatonin is concentrated in the skin of the grapes, which gives the color of the wine. It is the chemical in our body responsible for the regulation of sleep and the control of the circadian rhythm. At dawn, melatonin levels are reduced, the reason that man wakes up and becomes active in the morning. At night time, melatonin increases. By taking an extra glass of wine at night, the melatonin in the body will increase resulting to enhanced sleep.

Sources
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