Health Benefits of Red wine

Red wine drinkers rejoice! The next time you decide to uncork a red wine bottle, there might be one healthy reason to celebrate. Confused? Well, It has been researched that drinking red wine may offer various health benefits. Red wine, which is made with crushed red grapes and grape skins, is full of rich antioxidants. These antioxidants are important as they prevent your body cells from damage. The main one being resveratrol, which is present in grape skins. This is the main reason why red wine is considered healthier than white wine. Additionally, polyphenols, also found in red grape skins have been associated to protect you from heart-related diseases.

Of course, doctors wouldn’t advise you to start drinking if you are a teetotaler, but if there’s a glass or two by your dinner plate every day or even once a week, there’s no harm in continuing it. Moreover, red wine online has vast popularity among doctors and the general public due to its health benefits. A lot of research and long-term studies have been going on for its positive links with cardiovascular, diabetes, stress, and a lot more benefits. 

1. Boosts your heart health

Drinking red wine may prove to be a good cardio-protective supplement as well as linked with a lower risk of developing heart diseases. The antioxidants in red wine help in increasing the levels of good cholesterol, hence preventing cholesterol buildup and further heart diseases. The polyphenols, especially resveratrol, can protect the linings of the blood vessels in your heart. Although more research is required on this, the current results are promising. 

In another study, red wine can increase the health of our blood vessels too. But remember, moderation is the key. One or two glasses of red wine every day as a supplement are sufficient for a healthy heart. So, if you are going for a wine that is healthiest for the heart, go for Pinot Noir, as the grapes for this wine come from cold and wet environments. This means the healthiest parts of the fruit are kept at their freshest. 

2. May fight cancer

Once again, the antioxidant in the red wine that is responsible for preventing various kinds of cancers in our body is resveratrol. It destroys the pancreatic cells by crippling the cell’s core energy source i.e. mitochondria. The importance of drinking red wine is during cancer treatment is so much that doctors advise the patient to not give up on red wine if they are already taking it. In moderation of course.   

More fascinatingly, researches have revealed that a person who drinks 1-2 glasses of wine every week is less likely to suffer from bowel cancer than those who don’t drink red wine at all. Apart from this, red wine is considered better than its white counterpart for breast cancer treatment. Apart from resveratrol that is usually present in Spanish red wine or Italian red wine, another compound called myricetin also has cancer-preventive properties. 

3.  Controls blood pressure

As you have read above, resveratrol present in red wine can help control heart-related diseases. Similarly, the same compound also helps in controlling the body’s blood pressure to some extent. In one of the studies where people with slightly increased blood pressure were given moderate amounts of red wine, resulted in lower readings as a result. It was concluded that polyphenols were responsible for this. Of course one should not drink *just* to control their blood pressure. Drinking it in moderation is a good way to reap the benefits. 

4. Might promote longevity

Long-term studies have revealed that resveratrol in red wine can increase human lifespan by as much as 60%. It might activate the evolutionary stress responses in our cells that increase longevity. Furthermore, it can protect our neurons from the undesirable effects of ageing. It can make your skin glow and reduce the risks of skin cancer. With this, it can also restore the original glow by preventing cell oxidation in our bodies through its polyphenols. It is also possible to increase the effects of resveratrol when clubbed with a nutritionally-dense diet, such as Mediterranian. But remember, the quantity of resveratrol in red wine is very less compared to that of a pill, and it’s still not recommended to have more wine than the moderate amount every day or week. 

Also read: Best Refreshing Summer Red and White wines

5. Reduces stress

Evidently, resveratrol in red wine stimulates a particular protein that activates certain genes responsible for repairing DNA, suppresses the tumour genes, and increases longevity genes. So basically, one glass of wine each day can reduce stress and has a relaxing effect on you. The best way to get the benefits of stress-free drinking is having a glass while having dinner, and not right before sleeping. This way, you can calm yourself down without disturbing your sleep cycle. 

Although, this calming effect through red wine is not recommended for pregnant women, even though they go through a lot of stress during this time. As many of us know that alcohol can be detrimental to the fetus.  

6. May improve the immune system

Some researchers have found that drinking red wine can boost your immune system as well as fight infections. Drinking a glass or two every day can also keep away those pestering colds. Another study supports this notion by stating that red wine is a better variant than white wine in making the immune system stronger and keeps away around 200 viruses that cause cold. 

7. Improves bone strength

The various antioxidants and minerals in red wine, particularly resveratrol positively affects the bones by increasing their density through mineralization or formation. The compounds in the wine also have anti-inflammatory characteristics that prevent bone loss. Especially in women, calcium loss or the chances of osteoporosis is particularly prevalent. So, one or two glasses of red wine can act as a drug and prevent older women from thinning bones and keep their spinal structure stronger than usual.  

So basically, drinking red wine moderately could be beneficial for your heart, gut, immunity, brain, and overall health.