Is a cup of wine a day good for you?

Red wine has been found to be healthy for your heart in moderation. There are certain substances and ingredients (antioxidants) in red wine that help prevent heart disease by increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and always help protect against artery damage. Some antioxidants that wine contains are flavonoids or resveratrol.

There has been a lot of research (according to this article) that moderate intake of alcohol improves cardiovascular health. Research has suggested that red wine is the most beneficial to your heart health. The antioxidants in wine from the skin and seed of grapes are healthy for the heart.

Flavonoids help reduce the risk of coronary heart in three major ways. These are: By reducing the production of low density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is considered “bad protein” because it adds to plaque, a think hard deposit that can clop arteries and cause them to be less flexible. It boosts high density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is considered the “good protein” because it helps remove lipoprotein cholesterol from the arteries and to the liver, where it is then removed from the body. Thirdly, it reduces blood clotting.

So you may be wondering, as long as I am drinking red wine I’m being healthy? From my observations the answer is no. For red wine to be beneficial for your heart health, it needs to have a large quantity of the antioxidants flavonoids and resveratrol, so sorry college kids but Franzia is probably not cutting it. Also, when drinking wine for health benefits, one serving is the appropriate amount to drink. If you have certain health issues, red wine may not be the answer to your problem.

So if wine comes from grapes, does grape juice have the same benefits? Apparently purple grape juice reduces blood clotting and some juices do contain the same antioxidant that red wine contains, but it was found that it does not lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol as well as red wine.

It is important to remember that too much alcohol is unhealthy and can be damaging to your body. Moderation is key for red wine to actually be beneficial.GlassesHeartRedWine-copy

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/Good-vsBad-Cholesterol_UCM_305561_Article.jsp

 

http://www.ynhh.org/about-us/red_wine.aspx

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