After a long day of work, many people like to get home and pour a glass of wine to help them unwind. But did you know that every glass of wine you drink comes with a health benefit, if consumed at a moderate rate.
According to MedicalNewsToday, centuries ago, wine was used to treat various health conditions. Medieval monasteries were convinced that their monks lived longer than the rest of the population partly because of their moderate, regular consumption of wine. In recent years, science has indicated that this could be true.
MedicalNewsToday states the benefits of a glass of wine as follows:
Heart health and Type-2 diabetes
One study has shown that drinking a glass of red wine with dinner “modestly decreases cardiometabolic risk” in people with Type-2 diabetes, and that a moderate intake of red wine is safe.
Brain damage after stroke
Resveratrol may protect the brain from stroke damage, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Results from tests on mice showed that resveratrol increased levels of heme oxygenase, an enzyme known to protect nerve cells in the brain from damage. When a stroke occurs, the brain is ready to protect itself because of higher enzyme levels.
Preventing vision loss
Resveratrol in red wine may help prevent vision loss caused by out-of-control blood vessel growth in the eye,
Preventing breast cancer
Regular consumption of most alcoholic drinks increases the risk of breast cancer. However, thanks to chemicals in the seeds and skins of red grapes, women who drink red wine in moderation may be spared this risk.
Improving lung function and preventing lung cancer
Low doses of red wine, and to a lesser extent white wine, may boost lung function and prevent lung cancer cells from proliferating, according to at least one investigation.
However, be cautious. According to MedicalNewsToday, wine consumption may have some health benefits, but drinking too much of any kind of alcoholic drink increases the risk of addiction, depression, mental health problems, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, stroke, hypertension, fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, several cancers, pancreatitis
Please take into consideration that abusing any alcoholic drink is never advisable. The researchers defined ‘moderate drinking’ as an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week.
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