Red wine is obviously made from grapes, and as such, has the same components as grapes. Grapes have several amazing antioxidants, including catechins, epicatechin, resveratrol, and proanthocyanins. The resveratrol comes from the grape skin and provides heart healthy benefits and anti-aging benefits.
Grapes also contain flavonoids; the most important are the anthocyanins, the flavonoids responsible for giving red wine its red color. They have their own unique health benefits that make drinking red wine a premium health choice, including reducing the risk of heart disease. They also work with proanthocyanins to combat cancer by preventing free radical damage.
What Are The Benefits Of Red Wine For Health?
Red wine has a significant amount of specific health benefits that are explored in depth below:
1. Boosts Heart Health
The antioxidant content of red wine has the ability to increase the level of “good” HDL cholesterol, and lower the level of “bad” LDL cholesterol. Regulating your cholesterol levels in this way is one of the first steps to preventing heart disease. Red wine’s polyphenols, particularly resveratrol, also helps to protect the linings of your heart’s blood vessels. It has also been suspected to have the ability to reduce blood clots. Resveratrol also has the ability to protect the heart from inflammation by activating a protein known as sirtuin.
2. Helps Fight Diabetes
Drinking red wine can also lower your glucose levels for up to an entire day – 24 hours. Regularly consuming red wine for 3-4 times a week can also reduce your chances of developing diabetes by up to 30%. This is due to the polyphenols contained in red wine.
3. Fights Cancer
Red wine also has the ability to help fight cancer, as the antioxidant content resists free radical damage. It not only fights free radicals, but it has been proven to actually help destroy malignant cells.