10 Health Benefits of Drinking Wine

Scientists and researchers have been touting the health benefits of drinking wine for years. The key to wine's health benefits is, of course, moderation. Discover a few of the many health benefits wine consumption offers.

Multiple studies show that wine, either red or white, raises your High Density Lipid (HDL) Cholesterol levels. HDL cholesterol is often referred to as the "good" cholesterol. This type of cholesterol actually helps to reduce the fat on the walls of your arteries by carrying it away from the arterial walls delivering it to the liver. The liver then processes these fats into waste and your body eliminates them.

Here's a really over simplified explanation of a free radical: Free radicals are basically groups of atoms that attack healthy cells, causing cell damage. Antioxidants help to counteract the damage done by free radicals. The flavanoids and resveratrol in wine act as antioxidants to battle free radical cell damage.

Wine acts as a mild natural sedative. One five-ounce glass of wine helps to relieve anxiety and tension. When stressed out, the heart pumps faster and works harder, putting people with high stress levels at an increased risk for heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. The anti-anxiety effect of wine helps to slow the stressed out heart rate to more normal, healthier levels and lowers blood pressure.

Scientists have proven that the antioxidants in wine slow the development of arterial plaque build up. By doing so, wine helps to prevent arthrosclerosis, thereby, helping to slow or prevent heart disease.

A 2003 study conducted by the American Journal of Gastroenterology showed that those who drink wine regularly reduce their risk of developing peptic ulcers by helping the body to get rid of the specific bacteria known to cause these types of ulcers. The study did note however, that the consumption of wine must be moderate and over consumption leads to an increased risk of developing peptic ulcers.

The heart experiences many health benefits of drinking wine. Aside from the cholesterol and anti-anxiety benefits mentioned earlier, moderate and regular consumption of wine helps to prevent a heart condition known as cardiac fibrosis. Cardiac fibrosis occurs when proteins build in the heart valves, resulting in thickening. When this thickening occurs, the heart beats far less efficiently. Wine helps to prevent these proteins from forming inside the heart valves.

Regular and moderate consumption of wine has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Another one of the health benefits of drinking wine is that the flavonoids and other antioxidants have been shown to increase lung function, making them work more efficiently.

Polyphenol compounds found in wine, known as procyanidins, help to protect the blood vessels from damage. They also work to protect the endothelium. Endothelium are protective tissues around the heart and the blood vessels.

A preliminary 2006 study conducted by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology showed that regular and moderate consumption of wine helps to slow memory loss as well as prevent the brain cells from dying. This lowers the risk for dementia and dementia related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.