Any hardworking gal knows that kicking back with a girlfriend and a glass of red wine is a fabulous way to de-stress. Your red-wine habit also happens to come with some happy health benefits, such as protecting your ticker and even slimming your waistline. Check out these eight reasons why winding down with a glass of vino is a good call all around. MORE: 9 Very Best Solutions To Solve Your Snoring (Prevention Premium) 1. Lower your cholesterol High-fiber Tempranillo red grapes—which are used to make certain red wines, like Rioja—may actually have a significant effect on cholesterol levels, according to a study from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain. Healthy study participants who consumed the same grape supplement found in red wine saw their LDL, or "bad cholesterol," levels decrease by 9% among healthy. Participants with high cholesterol experienced a drop of 12%. What's the big deal? Excess LDL ends up getting deposited in arterial walls and forming plaque, which causes arteries to stiffen and blood pressure to rise, ultimately leading to heart attacks, says Arthur Agatson, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami and author of The South Beach Heart Program.

MORE: 12 Foods That Lower Cholesterol Naturally 2. Protect your heart On top of lowering bad cholesterol, polyphenols—the antioxidants in red wine—can help keep blood vessels flexible and reduce the risk of unwanted clotting, says John Folts, PhD, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.best wines to drink in winter "They're nearly as effective as aspirin," says Folts. good wine suggestionsBut be careful: Chronic heavy drinking damages the heart, so, as with most things, moderation is key. best wine to go with chicken(If you prefer an aspirin to protect your ticker, be sure to follow these 3 aspirin safety tips.)best red italian wine 2015

MORE: 28 Days To A Healthier Heart 3. Control blood sugar The skin of red grapes—a rich source of red wine's natural compound resveratrol—may actually help diabetics regulate their blood sugar, finds recent research published in the journal Nutrition. can you buy vegan wineStudy participants who took a 250 mg resveratrol supplement once a day for three months had lower blood glucose levels than those who didn't take the pill. best wine deals nzPlus, resveratrol-takers also had significant decreases in total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. box of wine songResearchers suspect that resveratrol may help stimulate insulin secretion or activate a protein that helps regulate glucose and insulin sensitivity.glass of wine how long in system

4. Boost your brain Resveratrol may also be the key to keeping your memory sharp, says Philippe Marambaud, PhD, a senior research scientist at New York's Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders. best prices on beer and wineThe compound has been shown to hamper the formation of beta-amyloid protein, a key ingredient in the plaque found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Marambaud suggests flexing your noodle by doing crossword puzzles and brain teasers for an hour then cooling down with a glass of wine. New to brain teasers? We've got you covered with 7 Brain Games That Make You Smarter. 5. Fight off a cold If you hate getting sick (and who doesn't?), the antioxidants in red wine may help keep you healthy. A 2010 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that among 4,000 faculty members at five Spanish universities, those who drank more than 14 weekly glasses of wine for a year were 40% less likely to come down with a common cold. 

According to the National Institutes of Health, antioxidants are believed to fight infection and protect cells against the effects of free radicals, which may play role in cancer and other diseases.They may also lower sex hormone levels to protect against breast cancer, says a study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. (Stay up to date on the latest breast cancer news with our Breast Cancer Center.) According to researchers at the University of Virginia, the resveratrol you get from drinking one glass of red wine three or four times a week may be enough to starve any nascent cancer cells. The scientists dosed human cancer cells with resveratrol and found that the compound inhibited the key action of a cancer-feeding protein. MORE: The Ultimate Anti-Cancer Diet Clearly, resveratrol is a bit of a limelight hog when it comes to the healthful compounds in vino. But research in the Journal of Biological Chemistry suggests piceatannol, the chemical compound our bodies convert from resveratrol, deserves some credit.

This compound was shown to actually prevent the growth of fat cells in a series of lab tests. Researchers say that piceatannol binds to the insulin receptors of fat cells, essentially blocking the pathways necessary for immature fat cells to mature and grow. 8. Jazz up dinnerRed wine: easy to drink, even easier to spill. Ask anyone and they'll have a solution for removing red wine, whether it involves using white wine or other unlikely substances like milk or shaving cream. It's a dreaded thing to spill, but we're here to calm your fears. We called in an expert, Ingrid Johnson, Professor and Assistant Chairperson of Textile Development and Marketing at Fashion Institute Of Technology (FIT), to debunk some cleaning myths and give us the right solutions. 1. Salt is the best option for cleaning up freshly-spilled red wine. "The first and easiest thing to do is ​to ​sprinkle with salt as this will absorb the wine," Johnson told us via email. The solution holds true for bedspreads, curtains, couches and other home items, which all "absorb slowly," making it easier to get the wet stain out.

If the item is made of cotton, hot water is enough to do the trick, according to Johnson. 2. Oxi products are the best thing for getting out old, dried stains. "Old or set in stains from wine can be more of a challenge," says Johnson. But it is possible to get dried wine stains out. She recommends saturating the area with hot water, applying a pre-treatment and then letting any oxi product -- usually a combination of granules and water -- "work its magic" for anywhere from 2 to 10 hours. 3. You shouldn't use white wine to clean up spills. Johnson shoots this home remedy myth down. "In both cases the stain is essentially fruit juice and not matter how clear the white wine seems​,​ it has color from the fruit," she adds. 4. Preventing stains is difficult, period. We've heard rumors that using certain fabrics like Sunbrella inside the home or awesome fabric protectors are easy ways to prevent stains, which Johnson partly puts them to rest. "There are fabric protectors like Scotchgard, but they are surface applications and can wear off from use.