How is Wine Good for You? Let Us Count the Ways!pdf, 2.3Mb

On the First
Day Of
Christmas My
True Love
Gave to Me:
A Big, Bold,
Juicy Bottle of
Cabernet
Sauvignon!
How Wine Is
Good For You Let Me Count
the Ways...
Everyone knows that Dr. Seleme is an advocate of body, mind and spiritual
healing. All aspects of our body need to be nourished for healing and a little
red wine every now and then does do a body good! American women buy
more than 60% of all wine sold in our nation. In the near future, America
may even come head-to-head with France and Italy as far as the overall wine
consumption goes. As studies move forward and more wine connoisseurs
are cultivated, we are finding greater health benefits from red wine consumption.
There are 5 major benefits to sipping the juicy grape:
1. Wine helps safeguard your memory.
2. Wine reduces your Body Mass Index (BMI) and can maintain it at that
low level.
3. Wine strengthens your body in order to fight eagerly-attacking germs.
4. Wine aids in constructing stronger, more durable bones.
5. Wine can assist in regulating your blood-sugar level.
Let us take look at each of these 5 benefits and while you’re at it, pour yourself a nice glass of red wine for more enlightenment!
SAFEGUARDING
YOUR MEMORY.
As people go through
their own metamorphosis, so do their
brains – with the
latter shrinking as the
result. And in direct
proportion, just as a
person can stay healthy
and youthful; there are
also ways to keep the
brain young. A panel
of experts was asked to
show their results involving the very issue by WebMD. The experts
confirmed what we all had thought all along: “What that is good for the
body is also good for the mind.”
Tedd Goldfinger, DO, of the University of Arizona School of Medicine
explained that “wine helps prevent clots and reduces blood vessel inflammation, both of which have been linked to cognitive decline and heart disease.”
This was part of what was concluded after memory quizzes were conducted
using women in their 70s. Some of the women were told to drink one or
more glasses every day, while others were told to drink less or none at all.
As you may have already guessed, those women who had more wine to drink
scored higher than the latter group. In addition, the research also showed
that alcohol is capable of raising High Density Lipids, or HDL. This is a
type of good cholesterol which is known to help unclog your arteries.
As far as the experts at WebMD are concerned, there are 7 things that they
recommend for you to do to keep your brain in tip-top, prime shape: exercise, eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, perform mental workouts, get
sleep, don’t do anymore multitasking, learn new memory tricks, and drink
red wine!
REDUCING YOUR
BMI.
Some researchers suggest to celebrities that
they should forget
about drinking “gross
diet drinks to stay
thin,” and “enjoy
a glass of wine like
normal people.” Red
wine works its wonders on your weight in
different ways: it can
reduce your
cholesterol and blood pressure through its antioxidants, it can tell your
body to burn your calories through an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol or
through thermogenesis, and it will simply help you eat less.
In the course of 13 years, researchers closely studied 20,000 women with
normal weight. These women comprised of moderate wine drinkers, liquor
drinkers, beer drinkers and nondrinkers. The result showed that “the women
who drank a glass or two of red wine a day were 30 percent less likely to be
overweight than the nondrinkers.” The other drinkers also showed to be less
likely to be overweight, but that the “link was strongest for red wine.”
A New York City physician and specialist in nutrition and metabolism, Dr.
Jana Klauer, stated this about wine contributing to healthy weight: “Women
make smaller amounts of the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol than men do,
so to digest a drink, they have to keep producing it, which requires the body
to burn energy.”
The lead study author and member of the division of preventative medicine
at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Lu Wang, MD, PhD,
explained that alcohol may also burn calories “due to the process of thermogenesis.” What does that mean exactly? It simply means that alcohol “raises
your body temperature, causing the body to burn calories to create heat.”
And what do the researchers have to say about the study showing that
women who “moderately” drink red wine ate less? Well, they don’t actually
have any definitive reasons why. They did hypothesize that “it’s possible
that they [red wine drinkers] were more likely to slow down and savor their
food and drink.” Both Drs. Klauer and Wang strongly advise that you drink
one glass of red wine a day, but not anything more that. Drink moderately
“along with a healthy diet and exercise.” You do not want to overdo the red
wine and increase your risks for other dilemmas, such as breast cancer. Moderation is the key.
HELPING
FIGHT
AGAINST
UNWANTED
GERMS
Apart from
maintaining
the heart
healthy, preventing cancer
and battling a
bout of diarrhea, wine can
also help you
out with your teeth and throat. An issue from the Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry explained how “exposure to wine had a persistent antibacterial effect.”
What, you may ask, is in wine that produces this antibacterial effect? There
is an assortment of organic compounds, which contain carbons, found in
them. These “germ-fighting properties” mostly consisted of – but may not
just be limited to – “lactic, malic, succinic and tartaric acids. This acidic
compound kills dental and sore throat bacteria.
Let’s just remember to drink moderately, as acidic mixtures have the tendency to soften your tooth enamel. The Academy of General Dentistry’s Dr.
David Bartlett warns that “sipping and holding acidic drinks in the mouth
before swallowing increases the risk of erosion on dental enamel.” Not to
worry though, just make sure to wait at least 20 minutes after imbibing your
wine prior to brushing your teeth. It’s the dentist’s orders!
KEEPING
YOUR BONES
STRONG
One of the
many health
concerns for
menopausal
women is
osteoporosis.
Thinning and
weakening
bones can eventually lead to
bone fractures.
And so, hundreds and thousands of women are prescribed drugs containing bisphosphonates to prevent thinning bones. Lucky for those women who
drink red wine, they can benefit from the same effects that bisphosphonates
usually provides.
University of Oregon experts have suggested against abstaining from
drinking, as their studies have shown that your risk for developing osteoporosis can increase. The Menopausal Journal’s comparison between bisphosphonates and wine and found them to produce the same effects of “reducing
the loss of old bone – which improved the balance between old and new
bone, thus maintaining strength.”
Another study in Britain showed that approximately 300,000 fragility fractures occur annually “with breaks to the hip leading to more than 1,150
death per month.” But drinking 2 small glasses 4-5 oz. per day can reduce
the loss of old bones. And with that process, termed bone turnover, comes a
better balance between old and new bones, ultimately maintaining strength.
This concludes the British experts’ study regarding the “effect on moderate
alcohol consumption similar to the effects of bisphosphonates.”
To approve of their accurate findings, Prof. Johathan Powell and Dr. Ravin
Jugdaohsingh of the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research
Group at Cambridge University claimed that the study was “novel” and
“methods appear robust. The moderate alcohol effect on bone is really quite
potent.”
REGULATING
YOUR BLOOD
SUGAR
In Hungary, a
simple research
study of 19 recruited diabetics
for blood sugar
levels showed
interesting results. Some were
given 5 mg doses
of resveratrol
per day “through
a supplement,” while others were given placebo. This was carried out for 4
weeks. The results showed that there was a considerable decrease in insulin
resistance for those who took the resveratrol supplements.
Dr. Mark Stengler, from HealthRevelations.com stated that it’s not that hard
to see why, because “oxidative stress helps fuel insulin resistance, and resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant.”
What exactly is resveratrol, you ask? It is a very powerful polyphenol compound – which is plant-derived – and is naturally-occurring. It’s one antioxidant that works on a cellular level to neutralize free radicals that cause us
to age.
And now you’re probably wondering how resveratrol is connected to wine?
Well, you’ll be happy to know that this antioxidant resides in the skins and
seeds of grapes! And lucky for all of us, red wine reaps the benefits of having the longest “contact time” with their skins during the fermentation process. That means that you an even higher level of resveratrol for the taking!
If you’re still skeptical about a single study in Hungary, it may relieve you
to know that another one was conducted in 2009 from The University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center. There, they found that a class of proteins, called sirtuins, is activated by resveratrol. This study was accepted for
publication by Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society. To continue, when sirtuins are activated by resveratrol, “diabetes is improved.”
Overall, one glass of wine, according to The Linus Pauling Institute , is
beneficial to you for a number of different health reasons:
~You can raise your good cholesterol, High Density Lipids (HDL), to safe
guard your memory, among other things like preventing blood clots, and
reducing blood vessel inflammation and the risk of heart disease.
~You can decrease and maintain a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) by
metabolizing an enzyme that breaks down alcohol, through a process called
thermogenesis, which burns calories into energy.
~You can fight against bacteria that may invade your teeth and throat
through lactic, malic, succinic and tartaric acids.
~You can further strengthen your bones to prevent from osteoporosis and
bone fractures with the same effects that bisphosphonates usually provides.
~You can keep your blood-sugar at a healthy level and keep diabetes at bay
with the help of resveratrol activating a protein called sirtuins, which are
advantageous for calorie restriction.
Wine can be
invigorating, wine can
be intoxicating, and now,
you can say that wine
is life-saving! Drink it
moderately. Drink it
daily. Drink it with
confidence that it’s got
your back. Veni, Vedi,
Vici Vino!
REFERENCES
6 REASONS WHY A LITTLE GLASS OF WINE EACH DAY MAY DO YOU GOOD
http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410287,00.html
IT’S OFFICIAL! RED WINE HELPS TO REDUCE MEMORY LOSS! WEBMD SHARES
TOP 7 BRAIN BOOSTERS
http://vnahomehealth.org/blog/2009/10/08/its-official-red-wine-helps-to-reduce-memoryloss-webmd-shares-top-7-brain-boosters/
IS WINE THE NEW DIET DRINK?
Cool news: Scientists say drinking vino may help prevent weight gain. Time to put down
those “cleansing” juices and pour yourself a pinot noir.
by Mina Azodi
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/health/drink-wine-for-weight-loss
WINE: KILLS GERMS ON CONTACT
by Dave Mosher
http://www.livescience.com/7326-wine-kills-germs-contact.html
REGULAR GLASS OF WINE ‘HELPS PREVENT THINNING BONES JUST LIKE
DRUGS’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9448821/Regular-glass-of-wine-helps-prevent-thinning-bones-just-like-drugs.html
‘WINE ANTIOXIDANT’ CAN LOWER BLOOD SUGAR
by Edward Martin
http://healthrevelations.com/2011/05/24/wine-antioxidant/
RED WINE AND RESVERATROL
What are the Health Benefits Associated with Red Wine?
by Stacy Slinkard, About.com Guide
http://wine.about.com/od/wineandhealth/a/Red-Wine-And-Resveratrol.htm
Seleme Chiropractic Wellness Center
Dr. Venus A. Seleme
10395-A Democracy Lane, Fairfax, VA 22030
T. 703.273.0573 F. 703.273.7056
www.drseleme.com