As is usually the case, the phrase “everything in moderation” applies strongly to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Excessive drinking is, as most would agree, very bad for your health, but is a glass of wine with dinner necessarily a bad thing?
Wine has been enjoyed for over a thousand years and observations and studies throughout the centuries have shown that drinking wine in moderation is actually beneficial to your health.
Early Times
Some of the earliest observations about the health benefits of wine come from the lifestyle of monks who drank wine with their meals. Monks tended to live longer lives and believed that it was the benefits of the wine that allowed them this longevity. Now Harvard Medical School agrees. Their studies have shown that the chemical resveratrol in red wine is responsible for the anti-aging properties.
Mental Health
A team of university researchers from Spain followed the eating and drinking habits of 5505 men and women aged 50 to 85 for 7 years. Their study found significant evidence that there was less incidence of depression in those that drank a few glasses of wine each week.
Cancer
Colon cancer rates were found to be reduced by 50% in moderate wine drinkers in a study done by scientists at the University of Leicester, UK.
Eye Health
Blood vessels in the eyes grow uncontrollably, eventually causing blindness. Diabetic Retinopathy and age related Macular Degeneration can be halted by moderate consumption of wine.
Lung Function
White wine is good for you, too. Dutch researchers found that white wine can improve lung function while red wine had no effect.
Liver Disease
Wine was once thought to cause liver disease. Now scientists at the U.C. San Diego School of Medicine found that moderate wine drinking actually reduces the risk of fatty liver disease. That benefit only holds for wine, stronger drinks do cause liver disease.
Stroke
Stroke can damage brain cells, but red wine drinkers have a lower chance for significant damage after a stroke than non-drinkers. It isn’t certain what it is in the wine that causes the higher levels of oxygen that protect the brain from damage.
Omega 3s
Omega 3 fatty acids help protect us from heart disease and reduce depression. According to European researchers, red wine consumption helps raise the levels of Omega 3 in blood.
Now the key idea found in all these studies to take from this is moderation. Moderate consumption of wine has show to have health benefits. Milwaukee OWI Lawyers say that excessive drinking is a common theme these days and health benefits should not be used as an excuse.
But with that in mind even Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, praised wine for its healing properties. Wine has been used to treat ailments for many centuries, and as it turns out, it really can be a healthful drink. So feel free to reach for the red wine after a hard days work, it will not only help relax you, but help your health at the same time.