Wine and Health - Do They Go Together?

The discussion on wine and health has been growing in the medical community and it leaves many wondering if the two go together. The consumption of wine has been an issue of growing enormity over the past several years. Here we will study the positives and negatives of wine consumption and get through some of the myths to see what is best for you, the consumer.

Many people attribute the low level of heart disease in countries like France to the fact that the French consume much more wine, specifically red wine, than people in many other countries. It isn't just being discussed that wine can lower the risks of heart disease; many other medical issues are being studies as well. Some of these include cancer, cholesterol, diabetes, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's.

Wine contains an important ingredient, Resveratrol, which is at the heart of most of the recent studies into wine consumption. Resveratrol is found in larger quantities in red wine, because it is found in the skin of the grapes. The skin is left on for much longer in the brewing process of red wine, and removed much sooner in white wine, which is why studies have shown that the levels of Resveratrol are higher in red wines. Types like Cabernet and Pinot Noir lead the pack in the highest levels of Resveratrol in the wine.

The wine and health study is particularly interesting because wine is potentially able to lower the amount of cancer causing cells in the body, and has been seen in some studies (of rats, not yet in humans) to be good at stunting the growth of cancerous tumors within the body. It is also being studied in the field of Neurology because it may be that wine can allow nerve cells to be produced, which can help in diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. It is a natural anti-inflammatory, which helps people feel and look younger, many reporting that they are able to move around much more comfortably than before they began supplementing their diets with red wine or more pure Resveratrol concentration in supplements.

It is very important to review that most of the studies and medical professionals agree that wine is good for you, but in moderation. Moderation is defined at between one and two glasses per day. Anything over and above that amount can actually be very detrimental to your health and is not recommended. Many studies have shown that to be most effective, the doses in rats equal that of over 100 bottles of red wine per day, which is obviously impossible for a human to consume. That is why many supplement companies are offering high dose Resveratrol supplements to increase the amount of Resveratrol intake without consuming harmful levels of alcohol.

Although the effects of wine and Resveratrol are still very controversial, the facts don't lie. Medical professionals have seen benefits to consuming low amounts of wine daily and many recommend it to their patients who suffer from diseases like heart disease. The wine may be able to strengthen the walls of the arteries and decrease the risks of heart disease. It will be very interesting to see over the next several years what developments take place in the area of wine and health to allow us to better understand the many benefits of wine consumption.