Growing up I’ve heard from my parents, my friends parents and other sources in my life that drinking one glass of red wine a day with dinner is actually very healthy for you and your heart. Its even been advertised in the media as a means of combating heart disease. Do you believe that?
Atherosclerosis is a process in which blood vessels begin to lose their natural ability to, relax. Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes also help contribute to this process. Both the alcohol and the polyphenolic compounds found in red wine maintain healthy blood vessels by helping to promote nitric oxide form, which is the key chemical that helps to relax blood vessels.
During a study of 13,825 over the course of 12 years at the Copenhagen City Heart Study, men and women were divided into 2 groups with one drinking alcohol and the other not. The results were that the subjects who drank wine had half the risk of dying from coronary heart disease or stroke as compared to those who never drank wine. Those who drank beer and spirits did not experience that advantage. In 13 other studies involving 209,418 participants, research showed that a 32% reduction in risk of atherosclerosis came with red wine intake while only a 22% from beer. Having 1-2 drinks of any alcoholic beverage a day has been suggested to help increase survival rates in a variety of different population groups. Middle aged men and women benefit most from this as moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of developing atherosclerosis disease. Even patients with a history of heart attack diabetes all benefited drastically.
Saying that it is healthy for you to drink alcohol is not true. There are many other factors to consider when labeling something as “healthy.” However drinking 1-2 drinks a day has been proven to help reduce the risk of heart disease by 30% in middle aged men and women so I’ll let you make the call. 
Sources:http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/wine-how-much-is-good-for-you
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/2/e10.full
I believe that red wine certainly may have some health benefits. Since wine is made out of grapes, and so is grape juice, I wondered if grape juice also had these benefits, without the alcohol content which some people could do without. Here is an article on what I found: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/food-and-nutrition/faq-20058529
The link to the article can be found here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276718.php
I have heard the same thing my whole life about wine and I think its because of the antioxidants. Many studies have shown that fruits like grapes and blueberries help promote health and prevent some health problems but I looked further into it. Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in grapes, red wine, peanuts, chocolate and certain berries, and it has been credited with a large number of health benefits in various studies. Dr. Richard D. Semba of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine questioned the effectiveness of the antioxidant and its renowned health benefits. He conducted an observational study following a large group of Italian wine drinkers. He concluded that they do not live longer and are just as likely to develop cardiovascular disease or cancer as individuals who consume smaller amounts of the compound. This makes me question the effects of wine drinking but thats only one study so who knows.
I found this blog to be exceptionally fascinating because for as long as I can recall my mom has been drinking at least one glass of wine a day. I was always worried that she was harming her body by doing this, however after reading this blog I feel more conformable with my mother consuming red wine frequently. After looking up more benefits that red wine consumption has I found that for over a time span of 10 years, research has demonstrated that moderate intake of alcohol can improve cardiovascular health. In 1992 Harvard researchers listed moderate alcohol intake as one of the “eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk.” Here is a link that I believe will interest you further on the topic of the benefits of red wine consumption http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281
I’ve actually heard this as well and always wondered if there was any truth to it! Thinking about how wine is made, it leds itself to be naturally healthy since it is made of fruit. After looking into it, red wine has a specific antioxidant called resveratrol that is apparently good for you. Of course wine contains a lot of calories and sugars but as far as the antioxidants are good for your heart! I’m sure we will never heard doctors recommending a glass of wine but it sounds like it’s a good idea to me. It’s at a low or even no cost to you if you like to drink wine so why not give it a try?
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281
This blog interests me because growing up I’ve also heard many people telling me that drinking red wine at night is very good for you. They told me that drinking one glass at night can help you sleep better. From your blog I learned that there are many benefit of drinking red wine, for example according to the research, it lowers the percentage of getting atherosclerosis. After researching a little on my own, I found some other benefits of drinking red wine: lowers cholesterol, protects the heart, controls blood sugar, fight off a cold, and get slim. After seeing all these benefits, I believe I might start forming the habit once I’m in my mid thirties. Here is the website if you want more information on the benefits of red wine.
http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/health-benefits-red-wine/8-jazz-dinner