All Articles Fitness Nutrition Four Health Benefits of Red Wine Red wine has well known health benefits. However, drinking any alcoholic beverage in excess can lead to alcoholism and the serious health problems associated with it, so limit your red wine consumption to no more than 24 ounces per day. Use FitDay to keep track of the calories you're eating and make sure that you get adequate nutrition on the road to weight loss as you enjoy the following benefits of an occasional glass of wine. 1) Red Wine is Good for Your Heart Red wine contains resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant compound. Resveratrol also protects your heart and arteries against the effects of saturated fat in your diet, so drinking one or two glasses of red wine a day can help protect your heart and prevent cardiovascular disease. The flavonoids and sapponins in red wine also help to protect your heart against cardiovascular disease. The alcohol in red wine, when consumed in moderation, raises your levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, helps prevent the formation of blood clots and can help to protect your arteries from the damage caused by "bad" LDL cholesterol.

2) Red Wine Contains Antioxidants In addition to resveratrol, red wine contains a number of other antioxidants, which can slow the signs of aging and prevent a number of degenerative illnesses like type 2 diabetes. Drinking one or two glasses of red wine each day can help protect you from many of the diseases of the elderly, such as osteoporosis. 3) Red Wine Prevents Cancer Mounting evidence suggests that drinking red wine in moderation can help prevent cancer. The many antioxidants in red wine can help prevent the oxidative damage responsible for the process of aging and for many degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Guercetin, one of the many antioxidants in red wine, may help prevent lung cancer. Research has shown that resveratrol, the same red wine antioxidant that helps protect your heart, can also kill cancerous cells. Scientists have found that resveratrol, when used in conjunction with radiation therapy, can penetrate cancerous cells and induce apoptosis.

Apoptosis is a type of cell death that occurs when the cell dies, dissolves and is removed by the white cells of your immune system. Cancer researchers have been looking for a way to induce apoptosis in cancerous cells, because it's the safest way to remove unwanted cells from the body. Resveratrol also inhibits cancerous cells' ability to remove irradiated particles, making radiation therapy more effective against cancer. Resveratrol also attacks cancerous cells and inhibits their ability to function. 4) Red Wine Prevents Tooth Decay Red wine, even non alcoholic red wine, hardens your enamel to prevent tooth decay. Hardened enamel is more resistant to Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria which lives on your teeth and is responsible for tooth decay. The polyphenols in red wine can also prevent gum disease, and even help to treat it by reducing inflammation in the gums.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2002;505:95-111.Author information1Coronary Thrombosis Research Laboratory, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison 53792-3248, USA.

jdf@medicine.wisc.eduAbstractIn the dog, monkey, a nd human we have shown that 5 ml/kg of red wine or 5-10 ml/kg of purple grape juice but not orange or grapefruit juice inhibits platelet activity, and protects against epinephrine activation of platelets. best wine of 1996Red wine and purple grape juice enhances platelet and endothelial production of nitric oxide (Fitzpatrick et al., 1993, Parker et al., 2000). best white wine for duckThis is thought to be one of the mechanisms whereby purple grape juice significantly improved endothelial function in 15 patients with coronary artery disease. best wine in ctThe consumption of purple grape juice by the patients also offered increased protection against LDL cholesterol oxidation, even though all the patients were also taking another antioxidant vitamin E, 400 IU/day.

The number of people and animals in these studies was small; however, each one acted as their own control as measurements were made in each before, and then after consumption of red wine or purple grape juice. Thus these studies are thought to be significant. We feel that the results of these studies are encouraging and justify further research on larger numbers of subjects. This suggests that the flavonoids in purple grape juice and red wine may inhibit the initiation of atherosclerosis by one or more of the mechanisms described above. It will take years to fully characterize the potential benefits of daily consumption of red wine or purple grape juice for maintaining a healthy heart. Based on the existing evidence of antiplatelet and antioxidant benefits and improved endothelial function from red wine and purple grape juice, it seems reasonable to suggest that moderate amounts of red wine or purple grape juice be included among the 5-7 daily servings of fruits and vegetables per day as recommended by the American Heart Association to help reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

PMID: 12083471 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Publication typeReviewMeSH termsAdultAnimalsAntioxidants/isolation & purificationAntioxidants/pharmacologyAntioxidants/therapeutic useArteriosclerosis/prevention & control*BeveragesBlood Platelets/drug effectsBlood Platelets/physiologyClinical Trials as TopicCoronary Disease/prevention & controlDogsDrug Evaluation, PreclinicalEndothelium, Vascular/drug effectsEndothelium, Vascular/physiologyFemaleFlavonoids/isolation & purificationFlavonoids/pharmacologyFlavonoids/therapeutic use*Free RadicalsHumansMacaca fascicularisMacrophages/physiologyMaleMiddle AgedModels, AnimalMuscle, Smooth, Vascular/drug effectsMuscle, Smooth, Vascular/physiologyNitric Oxide/physiologyPlatelet Aggregation Inhibitors/isolation & purificationPlatelet Aggregation Inhibitors/pharmacologyPlatelet Aggregation Inhibitors/therapeutic useRabbitsVitis*/chemistryWineSubstancesAntioxidantsFlavonoidsFree RadicalsPlatelet Aggregation InhibitorsNitric OxideOther Literature SourcesCOS Scholar UniverseMiscellaneousNITRIC OXIDE - Hazardous Substances Data Bank