"Among the dietary beverages used by man through the centuries, the next in importance to milk has been wine."
~Dr. Salvatore Lucia, professor of medicine at the University of California School of Medicine
It has been said that wine is mankind's most ancient medicine. Cheers to that indeed!
There are few passions in life that are both enjoyable and beneficial to health at the same time. It is perhaps why wine drinking is becoming such a fad in even the non-traditional regions of the world. While there were initial claims that the benefits of wine were folklore created by wine makers to propagate wine drinking, increasing research by many reputable research centers have concluded that it is indeed true. In fact, they've discovered many benefits of wine.
Here are some of them:
Heart Disease: Wine is a vasodilator that helps reduce the risk of cardiac diseases including angina and stroke. It helps in two ways. Red wines have HDL (a good cholesterol) that drives the bad cholesterol from the arteries. Red wine also contains an antifungal compound called Resveratrol that can lower serum cholesterol.
Digestion: Wine stimulates flow of gastric juices to enhance the digestive processes. It has also shown that wines kill cholera bacteria and can combat typhoid.
Vitamins and Minerals: Wine contains utilizable minerals of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, Vitamin B and P.
Viruses: Red wines have polyphenols that are effective against some viruses.
Aging: Elderly people who drink moderate amounts are less prone to disability due to mental illness. Some attribute it to the mineral boron which helps older women to maintain their estrogen which in turn enables them to absorb calcium.
Cancer: Red wine contains a strong anti-cancer agent known as quercetin which becomes active in the body when the grape juice ferments or the body digests food. Wine also contains gallic acid, an acknowledged anti-carcinogenic.
Stress: Wine is a mild tranquilizer that can help reduce stress, which in turn can help prevent certain forms of cancer and other illnesses.
Kidney: Wine can enhance the alkaline reserves, effectively combating kidney acidosis.
Migraine: Red wine inhibits an enzyme called PST-P which detoxifies all sorts of bacteria in the stomach. The absence of PST-P is linked to migraine.
As with all beverages containing alcohol, don't overindulge and please don't drink and drive.
Cheers!
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