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Wine and Your Health
Did you know that fermented wine is more than an alcoholic beverage? It’s true! Wine is a complex fluid beverage with physiological benefits. Wine has been referred to as having dietary and therapeutic uses.
Wine is considered as a living food, and can aid the body like yogurt or other fermented foods. The grapes grown by Mountanos Vineyards produce a chemically free wine that will retain inherent nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, organic sodium, iron, calcium, phosphorus and absorbable B vitamins. Our wine is never boiled, so its biological active compounds are not destroyed or altered by heat.
In moderation, wine aids digestion and acts as a mild tranquilizer and sedative for the heart, arteries and blood pressure. Wine can reduce acid production, free circulation and relieve pain in the body. Wine is healthier than tranquilizers or drugs for the relief of nervous stress and tension. In a weight loss program a glass or two relaxes both mind and body and you are more likely to eat less.
Recent research suggests that drinking one or two glasses of wine per day can cut coronary heart disease risk by 50%, help prevent blood clot formation, and increase life span by reducing stress. Wine raises high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), while decreasing low-density lipoproteins) (LDLs) to help lower dangerous cholesterol levels.
U.C. Berkeley studies have shown that red wine is high in polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals which damage DNA, alter body chemistry and destroy cells. A new study on hepatitis A by the Epidemiology Journal shows that these polyphenols can even help prevent virus replication.
U.C. Davis studies involve the wine compounds, tannins, quercetin and resveratrol, found in red wines. Their research indicated that tannin-rich red wine was able to reduce ADP-induced platelet aggregation and increase HDL cholesterol levels, suggesting tannins may help protect against heart disease.
* Quercetin, is a flavonoid that is in red wine grapes and other dark fruits. This may be one of the most powerful anticancer agents ever discovered. It has the ability to reverse tumor development by blocking the conversion of normal body cells to cancer cells. It’s activity is intensified by the wine fermentation process and by naturally occurring flora in the intestinal tract. It improves pancreas function, and levels the release of insulin. Quercetin prevents some of the major complications of diabetes, including cataracts, diabetic retinopathy (blindness), neuropathy (nerve damage) and nephropathy (kidney damage). Since quercetin is an antioxidant and free radical scavenger, certain medical doctors are using it in wine with HIV infections, because wine also relieves some of the pain and stress.
* Resveratrol is a natural compound in grapes that fights fungal disease. Although alcohol in any form has been related with a reduced risk incidence of heart disease, recent studies say that something in wine in addition to the alcohol is responsible for its cholesterol lowering benefits. Resveratrol may be that something, or at least play a role in this healthful activity. Scientists believe it may be a key to wine drinkers’ healthy cholesterol levels, and may also reduce other unhealthy fats circulating in the blood. Resveratrol also seems to prevent blood platelet aggregation, and reduce blood clotting in arteries.
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