Over the years, researchers have carried out several studies that suggest that wine, particularly red wine, offers a lot of potential health benefits. In fact, most literature on the health benefits of wine often prefers red wine over the white variety.
The side effects posed by alcohol consumption are well-documented but drinking red wine is somewhat of an outlier. Although exceeding the recommended guidelines can cause a long list of health problems, the occasional glass of red may in fact boost your lifespan.
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Speaking to Express, Dr. Deborah Lee highlighted the numerous health benefits red wine offers.
Dr. Fox referred to a comprehensive review of the relevant research papers published in the journal Diseases.
The research focused on ten robust studies looking at the effects of moderate alcohol intake, especially wine, on health.
“The authors concluded that a moderate intake of red wine had a ‘valuable role’ in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, cognitive decline, depression, and cancer,” Dr. Fox stated
As she pointed out, red wine seems to have many health benefits when compared to white wine, water, and other alcoholic drinks.
The health benefits are partly attributed to potent compounds called phytochemicals found in red wine, said Dr Fox.
Two in particular – resveratrol and pterostilbene – are thought to induce anti-ageing effects, she said.
“Their anti-ageing effects are thought to be due to their potent antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory actions,”
explained Dr Fox.
“They also influence telomere attrition – cell division that takes place at the ends of the chromosomes, known to be associated with ageing.”
What’s more, resveratrol also has a positive influence on cell senescence – the process by which abnormal cells fail to replicate, reported Dr Fox.
“Cell senescence prevents abnormal cells from developing into a malignancy.”
The term “malignancy” refers to the presence of cancerous cells that have the ability to spread to other sites in the body or to invade and destroy nearby tissues.
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Also, resveratrol is known to activate specific enzymes, called Sirt enzymes, which play a role in anti-ageing, said Dr Fox.
She continued:
“Resveratrol has been shown to reduce oxidative stress, lower chronic inflammation, improve both cardiac and cognitive function, and inhibit tumour growth.
“It also seems to improve insulin resistance in diabetics.”
To maximise the health benefits and not offset them, it is vital to drink red wine in moderation.
It is advisable to drink no more than one to two glasses of red wine per day.
To put this into perspective, one 150ml glass of red wine is 12 to 15 percent of your daily alcohol intake.
“Alternatively, if you don’t want this amount of alcohol, you could try taking resveratrol supplements,” added Dr Fox.
It is also important to eat a healthy, balanced diet, which means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
Regular exercise can also help to achieve a healthy body weight.