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Health & Fitness

How Can Wine Be Good For Your Health?

How can wine really be good for you? Well it can only be good for you if it's consumed in moderation, and wine has certain chemical properties that can be beneficial to your health.

We’ve probably all heard from someone or somewhere that wine is good for you.  How can wine, which is a form of alcohol, really be good for you?  Well it can only be good for you if it’s consumed in moderation, and wine has certain chemical properties that can be beneficial to your health.  Before we talk about health benefits however, let’s talk about moderation when it comes to drinking wine.  A safe and healthy quantity for men is one to two 5-ounce glasses of wine per day and one 5-ounce glass per day for women.

So what is it about wine that can make it healthy to consume?  In addition to other antioxidants, wine contains a substance called resveratrol that may help prevent blood clots, cellular damage, plaque formation, and fat accumulation.   It may also reduce insulin resistance, which lowers the risk of diabetes.  Some studies have also shown that resveratrol can inhibit cancerous growths by inhibiting certain enzymes and preventing blood vessels that can feed a tumor from developing.  Since resveratrol comes from the skin of grapes, red wines contain a higher concentration of resveratrol than white wines because red wines are fermented longer with grape skins than white wines.

Moderate consumption of alcohol has also been shown to increase good cholesterol levels in the blood, known as HDL.  Higher HDL levels have been linked to lower risks of heart disease.

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Keep in mind that if you’re not a regular wine drinker, it’s probably not a good idea to start drinking wine for its possible health benefits as you can find them in other non-alcoholic foods.  For regular wine drinkers, it’s just icing on the cake!  The thing to remember is that the key to great health is a well-balanced diet and a consistent exercise regimen.  No matter how significant the health benefits of wine can be, they won’t help you much unless you have those two things in check.  If you do, then you deserve a refreshing glass of wine every so often to salute to your good health!

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