Red Wine: A Heart Healthy Choice

How lovely is it to come home from a hard day at work, sit in front of the TV for your choice guilty pleasure reality show and enjoy a glass of red wine to relax? I think the majority of us have had evenings like this, but did you know at the time that you may be helping your heart? I’m talking about the red wine, not the Beverly Hills Housewives reruns. While drinking that merlot or cabernet sauvignon, you are doing your heart and body a favor. Here’s why:

Antioxidants

Your DNA or cell membranes can become damaged through a series of events caused by free radicals, which are groups of atoms in the body. This damage can result in cancer or a variety of other medical conditions. When these free radicals are in your arteries at the same time as that bad cholesterol your doctor tells you about, they react with each other to cause damage to the walls of your arteries and your heart.

Your body’s defense mechanism to this is antioxidants. However, like all things your body can only produce so many antioxidants at one time and there are cases in which you need more than that. This is where red wine comes in. The antioxidants found in your favorite red wine can give you a heart-healthy boost when drank in moderation.

Red wine contains vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene, all of which are antioxidants. These are called polyphenols and a polyphenol called resveratrol is one substance in red wine to pay attention to.

Resveratrol

Tests have not been done on humans, however findings in mice point to the antioxidant helping protect from obesity and diabetes, both of which are strong risk factors for heart disease.

Moderation

It is important to note that doctors do not suggest having 3 large glasses of your favorite Malbec every night and expect that to have only healthy effects on your body. One small glass a night with dinner should do the trick. That also does not mean, mind you, that if you have none during the week you can overindulge with five glasses on Friday night. At least not for the sake of heart health!