Raise Your Glass to A Healthy Heart

Greatly aided by the prevalence of the internet, news spreads particularly fast nowadays. Any report is shared not only through the newspaper, radio, and television, but it’s also disseminated through Twitter, Facebook, and online news sources, which are updating constantly. Perhaps that is part of why so many people are familiar with some relatively new conclusions that there are huge health benefits for those who drink wine.

Granted, most of the press goes to red wine. This is because red wine contains the highest number of antioxidants. These powerful agents are present in many foods linked to overall health such as green tea, blueberries, kidney beans, artichokes, and more.

There is good news, however, for anyone not overly thrilled by red wine. White wine has also been linked to improved health. While it doesn’t have as many antioxidants as its red counterpart, it definitely has enough to see some long-term benefits after consistent consumption.

One of the biggest claims of the wine health connection is that wine consumption can decrease your chances of dying from heart disease. That’s a tremendous claim seeing as heart disease is the number one leading cause of death in individuals living in the United States.

Even more amazing, studies have linked regular wine consumption with reduced instances of cancer, which just so happens to be the second leading cause of death in the United States.

These claims have been supported by many studies, perhaps the most famous of which revolved around what is known as the “French Paradox.” This is the observation and subsequent studies showing that members of the French community do not suffer coronary disease in the rates one would expect for a diet so high in saturated fat. What’s keeping all that rich cheese, bread, butter, and pasta from doing harm? Many have concluded it’s the regular wine that accompanies the meals.

Some have noted that, in terms of saturated fat, Americans and French have a somewhat comparable diet. Americans, however, have a disproportionately higher fatality rate for heart disease and cancer.

For all of these amazing claims, though, it should be noted there are a few caveats to these claims of health-boosting ability. Most notable is that moderation is key. Alcoholism is a serious disease that will negate and overshadow any and all positive effects of wine.