Red, Red, Wine

Let me start by saying I don’t need a reason to drink wine. It’s delicious, it pairs nicely with food, chocolate, friends, but it’s good to know that if I ever need a little motivation, I’ve got ample reason to hit the bottle (in moderation, of course).

Red wine is sometimes understood as the secret behind why French people can eat three square meals consisting of baguette, brie, croque monsieur, beef bourguignon, and not gain a ounce or develop heart disease. Red wine has long been championed as a contributor to the ‘French Paradox’ because it is high in flavonoids, a type of polyphenol and a vital antioxidant.

What are polyphenols?
Polyphenols are antioxidants found in the skin and seeds of grapes. When wine is derived, the fermentation process dissolves the polyphenols in the skin and seeds right into the beverage of choice. Red wine contains higher levels of polyphenols than white wine because the skin is not removed at any stage in the grape crushing process. Because antioxidants may protect cells from the negative affects of free radicals, and because cellular damage may be a contributing factor in the development of cancer, upping antioxidant intake may be a key stage in preventing the development of certain cancers.

Res-what-a-who?
Another great reason to drink red wine is it contains Resveratrol, a compound which may limit tumor growth and potentially prevent cancer. According to lead cancer research, this substance, found also in peanuts and raspberries, is essentially a part of a plants "immune system" and acts as a defense against disease. This antioxidant substance may also reduce inflammation.

And those French fries?
The alcohol in wine is beneficial, along with the antioxidants, because studies suggest it may lower cholesterol absorption. Pour yourself a glass of Shiraz before you reach for that burger and those yummy pommes frites! When paired with fried food, wine may soften the calorie rich, cholesterol dent.

Want to learn more? Check out this Blue Zones article on Resveratrol.

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written by Albert Fielding, May 06, 2009

Wine is unquestionably a healthy addition to one's diet, in moderation, however it is not possible to obtain sufficient quantities of Resveratrol the so-called miracle molecule from wine. Since the Harvard mice study by Dr. Sinclair was published in the journal Nature a flood of new resveratrol suppliers have emerged. Most, if not all of these companies, especially the ones with some form of the word resveratrol in their names, are of very low quality and potency. Consumer Lab did an evaluation of resveratrol suppliers and manufacturers and found this unfortunate fact to be true. The manufacturer whose both resveratrol products were approved by Consumer Lab is Biotivia.com and the two products are transmax and bioforte. The ConsumerLab test results may be seen on the organization's web site.

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