CorkTale | Wine Reviews

From Yale-New Haven Hospital, a discussion of the heart health benefits of red wine:

For more than 10 years, research has shown that moderate levels of alcohol digested will improve the health of your heart. In 1992, Harvard researchers shared that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol is one of the "eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk." However, it is also shown that red wine is the most beneficial of wines to your heart health. The reason red wine is so good for your heart is because, antioxidants present in the skin and seeds of red grapes create protective attributes for your heart.

These antioxidants, called flavonoids, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in three ways:

* They reduce production of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (otherwise known as the "bad" cholesterol)
* They also boost high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
* They have also been shown to reduce blood clotting.

Recently, researchers have found that moderate red wine consumption may be beneficial to more than just your heart. One study found that the antioxidant resveratrol, which is prevalent in the skin of red grapes, may inhibit tumor development in some cancers. Another study indicated that resveratrol aided in the formation of nerve cells, which experts believe may be helpful in the treatment of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Regularly consuming a moderate amount of red wine may become a preventative measure against coronary disease and some forms of cancer. The chemical components thought to be responsible are catechins, also known as flavanoids and related to tannins. Tannins, as you already know, are what make your mouth feel dry after a sip of wine. The more your mouth smacks after drinking wine, the higher the level of tannins.

Catechins are believed to function as anti-oxidants, preventing molecules known as "free-radicals" from doing cellular damage. One particular form of flavinoid, called oligomeric procyanidin, recently proved to prevent hardening of the arteries.

There are also compounds in grapes and wine (especially red wine, grape juice, dark beers and tea, but absent in white wine, light beers and spirits) called resveratrol and quercetin.

Statistical evidence and laboratory studies have shown these elements may boost the immune system, block cancer from forming, and help protect us from heart disease. These elements have even been correlated with extending life span.

One study, published in the American Journal of Physiology, indicates that resveratrol also inhibits formation of a protein that produces a condition called cardio fibrosis. This condition reduces the heart's efficiency when it is under stress.

Additional evidence suggests that wine dilates small blood vessels and helps to prevent angina and clotting. If that wasn't enough, the alcohol in wine helps sway the balance of your cholesterol towards the good type.

Despite all of this good news, the research on wine is still ongoing. While a study of obese mice showed extended life spans when given large amounts of reservatrol, one should not consume a similar amount. In fact, if you were to attempt to drink the amount of wine that they used on these mice, you'd be drinking up to 250 gallons a day.

Not sure about most of you wine-o's out there, but I can handle a few glasses a night before a roaring headache becomes inevitable. I sure would like to live longer though... maybe it would be worth becoming a raging alcoholic to live a few years longer.... who knows :)