Twelve surprising benefits of red wine

Twelve surprising benefits of red wine

Many believe that drinking a glass a day is part of a healthy diet, while others believe that red wine has been a bit overrated.

Scientific evidence has always shown that moderate amounts of red wine contribute to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, there is a fine line between moderate and excessive consumption.

The benefits and properties of red wine range from its antioxidant power, reducing depression, preventing breast cancer, dementia and prostate cancer, and others that I will mention below.

What is a moderate consumption of red wine?

"Moderate consumption" of red wine is said to be good for your health. But how much is a "moderate" consumption of wine?

The recommended amount of wine depends on many factors; the build of the person, age, sex, body height and general state of health, as well as whether the red wine is drunk with food or on an empty stomach.

Women absorb alcohol faster than men due to their lower body water content and different levels of enzymes in their stomachs. Therefore, moderate consumption of wine is a smaller amount for women than for men.

According to the "2010 American Dietary Guidelines," published by the United States Department of Agriculture, "if alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation – up to one glass a day for women and two glasses a day for men." the men".

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF DRINKING WINE?

Before mentioning these benefits, it is important to note that they have been proven when consumption is moderate.

1- Reduces the risk of depression

A team from several universities in Spain published in the journal BMC Medicine that wine consumption can reduce the risk of contracting depression.

Researchers collected data on 2,683 men and 2,822 women between the ages of 55 and 80 over a seven-year period. The participants had to complete a questionnaire that included details about their alcohol consumption, and their mental health.

The authors found that men and women who drank two to seven glasses of wine a week were less likely to be diagnosed with depression.

Even after accounting for lifestyle factors that might influence their results, the risk of developing depression was still significantly lower.

2- Delays aging

The monks believed that wine slowed down the aging process, today scientists do too.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School reported that red wine has anti-aging properties.

Principal investigator David Sinclair argues that "resveratrol improved the health of mice on a high-fat diet and increased their lifespan."

Their findings, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, were the first convincing evidence of a definitive relationship between the antiaging properties of resveratrol and the SIRT1 gene.

Twelve surprising benefits of red wine

Resveratrol is the compound responsible for this beneficial effect. It is found in the skin of red grapes, cranberries, berries, and walnuts.

The anti-aging properties of red wine have been known for over a thousand years. Monasteries across Europe were convinced that monks lived longer, compared to the rest of the population, and that this was partly due to moderate and regular consumption of wine.

A study carried out at the University of London found that procyanidins, compounds commonly found in red wine, keep blood vessels healthy and are one of the contributing factors in achieving a longer life, such as the case of the people of Sardinia and southwestern France. The researchers also found that traditionally made red wine has much higher levels of procyanidins than other wines.

3- Prevents breast cancer

Sustained consumption of a large proportion of alcoholic beverages increases the risk of contracting breast cancer. However, drinking red wine has the opposite effect, according to the findings of researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Chemicals in the skins and seeds of red grapes reduce estrogen levels, while increasing testosterone in premenopausal women, which translates to a lower risk of developing breast cancer. Not only red wine has beneficial compounds, but its raw material, the red grape.

4- Prevents dementia

Researchers at Loyola University Medical Center found that moderate consumption of red wine may help lower the risk of developing dementia.

In this study, researchers collected and analyzed data from academic research on red wine dating back to 1977. The studies, spanning 19 nations, showed a statistically significant lower risk of dementia among red wine drinkers. red wine regularly and moderately in 14 countries.

Researchers explained that resveratrol reduces the viscosity of blood platelets, which helps keep blood vessels open and flexible. This helps maintain a good blood supply to the brain.

Lead researcher Professor Edward J. Neafsey stated that moderate red wine drinkers had a 23% lower risk of developing dementia compared to people who rarely or never drank the alcoholic beverage.

5- Protects against severe sunburn

Derivatives of wine and grapes can help reduce the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation, according to scientists from the University of Barcelona, ​​in Spain, in the journal Alimentos y Química Agrícola.

Researchers concluded that flavonoids, found in wine and grapes, inhibit the formation of reactive oxygen species in sun-exposed skin.

6- Prevents diseases that cause blindness

According to scientists from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, red wine can stop the process called angiogenesis (opening of new blood vessels in the eye area), which leads to the development of blindness.

Diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among Americans age 50 and older, are caused by this angiogenesis in the eye.

Researchers explained that resveratrol is the vision-protecting compound in wine.

7- Protects against post-stroke damage

Red wine may protect the brain from stroke damage, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Professor Sylvain Doré believes that the resveratrol in red wine increases levels of heme oxygenase, an enzyme known to protect nerve cells in the brain from damage. When someone has a stroke, the brain is primed to protect itself because of rising enzyme levels.

8- Improves lung function and prevents lung cancer

Dutch scientists reported on a study that examined the effects of resveratrol, red wine, and white wine on lung function.

They found that:

On the other hand, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, the intake of red wine can reduce the risk of lung cancer.

9- Increases the levels of omega-3 fatty acids

Wine is better than other alcoholic beverages for increasing levels of omega-3 fatty acids in plasma and red blood cells, according to the IMMIDIET study with the participation of European researchers from various countries.

The study examined 1,604 adults from London, Abruzzo, Italy, and Limburg, Belgium. All underwent a full medical examination by a general practitioner and also completed an annual drinking frequency questionnaire that included details of their eating habits.

They found that moderate wine drinkers had higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are generally derived from fish consumption. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to protect against coronary heart disease.

Scientists found that wine consumption acts as a trigger, increasing the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the body.

10- Prevents liver disease

A study conducted at the University of California, San Diego, concluded that moderate wine consumption cuts the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by half, compared to people who never drank wine. Their finding challenged conventional thinking about alcohol consumption and liver health.

Researchers reported in the journal Hepatology that moderate drinkers of beer or liquor had a four times greater risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease compared with wine drinkers.

11- Protects against prostate cancer

Seattle researchers examined general alcohol consumption and found no association with prostate cancer risk.

However, when they went a step further and looked at different alcoholic beverages, they found a clear association between red wine consumption and a lower risk of prostate cancer.

Even moderate consumption of red wine (one glass per week) reduced men's prostate cancer risk by 6%, the authors reported.

12- Prevents type 2 diabetes

In an animal experiment, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that resveratrol improved insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance is the most important critical factor contributing to the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers reported in the journal Cell Metabolism that resveratrol also increased levels of the enzyme SIRT1, which improves insulin sensitivity in mice.

Study leader Qiwei Zhai said red wine may have some benefits for insulin sensitivity, but this needs to be confirmed in further studies.

References

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art20048281http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265635.phppage=2http://www .ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22852062http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pbmed/25427916http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11830193http://www.ncbi .nlm.nh.gov/pubmed/23988010http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22999066http://www.nbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19770673

Source: Life Persona

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