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