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August 23 2011
Studies show wine is heart healthy, but what about the calories?
By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD WebMD Weight Loss Clinic-Feature
Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD
A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away. Could this be true? WebMD talks to experts to learn how we can get the health benefits of wine or alcohol while keeping our weight in check.
Do Like the French?
The French diet is often used as an example of how wine can improve heart health. The French have a fairly high-fat diet but their heart disease risk is relatively low. And some have attributed this to red wine.
But there are so many differences between the lifestyle of the French and Americans from their activity levels to the foods they eat. You cannot isolate red wine as the magic bullet for disease prevention says Alice Lichtenstein, DrS, Gershoff Professor at Tufts University.
Choose whichever alcoholic beverage you enjoy, drink it in moderation and try to have it with meals, advise Lichtenstein and Eric Rimm, DrS, a Harvard researcher.
Arthur Agatston, MD, cardiologist and creator of the popular South Beach diet, encourages patients who enjoy alcohol to also drink it with meals.
"Alcohol can stimulate the appetite so it is better to drink it with food. When alcohol is mixed with food, it can slow the stomach's emptying time and potentially decrease the amount of food consumed at the meal," asserts Agatston. His alcohol of choice is red wine due to the antioxidant resveratrol. However, he agrees that any alcohol in limited quantity will provide the same health benefit.
There is a misperception that red wine is abundant in antioxidants. "It does contain some, but they are not always well absorbed. If you want antioxidants, you are better off eating a spinach salad with vegetables than drinking a glass of red wine," Rimm tells WebMD. Lower Your Cholesterol
Alcohol also can have a very powerful effect and increase HDL "good" cholesterol by 20% if used moderately and in the context of a healthy diet along with regular physical activity, says Rimm. Higher HDL levels are linked to lower risks of heart disease.
"The research evidence points to ethanol, or the alcohol component, of beer, wine, or spirits as the substrate that can help lower cholesterol levels, increase 'good' HDL cholesterol," he says.
Boost Your Brain
A recent study shows a boost in brain power for women who enjoy a little alcohol. The study, published in the Jan. 20 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, evaluated more than 12,000 women aged 70-81. Moderate drinkers scored better than teetotalers on tests of mental function. Researchers found a boost in brainpower with one drink a day. Moderate drinkers had a 23% reduced risk of mental decline compared with nondrinkers.
With Alcohol, Moderation Is Key: Easy Does It
Just as you shouldn't eat a 12-ounce steak daily, you need to watch your portion sizes of alcohol as well.
What is one drink?
5 ounces of wine
12 ounces of beer
1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits, such as vodka
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend one drink a day for women and two a day for men. This doesn't mean to can save them up for a weekend party and expect to get the same benefits.
Will a Drink a Day Make You Fat?
A drink a day may help keep your brain sharp and heart healthy but what about the calories?
Alcohol supplies calories with few essential nutrients. If you drink alcohol, it needs to be budgeted into "discretionary calories" to maintain a healthy weight according to the 2005 dietary guidelines.
"Most Americans are sedentary, putting them into the lower calorie levels, leaving little room for alcohol, sweets, and extra fats," states Theresa Nicklas, DrPH, a member of the dietary guidelines advisory committee.
It is more important and healthful to select foods packed with nutrients, such as fruits and vegetables, rather than alcohol when calories are limited. The health benefits of moderate alcohol do not outweigh the risks of being overweight or obese, says Nicklas.
An individual on an 1,800-calorie level eating plan only has 195 discretionary calories or the equivalent of a 9-ounce glass of wine or a small dessert. If you want dessert along with your daily allotment of alcohol, you need to increase physical activity to balance your calories to achieve a healthy weight, according to Nicklas.
Double-Edged Sword
A little may be good but too much alcohol can lead to serious problems.
No one should start drinking if they don't already drink, advise Lichtenstein and Agatston. It is well known that alcohol can lead to numerous health problems for many individuals, such as pregnant women and women at high risk for breast cancer (alcohol raises the risk of breast cancer). Individuals with family histories of alcohol abuse should also not drink, says Lichtenstein.
To gain the benefits of good health, do your part to enjoy your one to two drinks per day at mealtime and follow the advice of the dietary guidelines for food, fitness, and weight management.
August 23 2011
By Jasmin Malik Chua
Thu Apr 3, 2008 10:51
While the heart-protecting and cancer-fighting powers of tea and red wine are near legendary, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered that imbibing these beverages may help regulate the blood sugar of people with type 2 diabetes.
"Levels of blood sugar, or blood glucose, rise sharply in patients with type 2 diabetes immediately following a meal," says Kalidas Shetty, professor of food biotechnology at the University of Massachusetts, and one of the authors of the study, which was published in the May issue of the Journal of Food Biochemistry. "Red wine and tea contain natural antioxidants that may slow the passage of glucose through the small intestine and eventually into the bloodstream and prevent this spike, which is an important step in managing this disease."Both red and white wines were tested using in vitro enzyme studies to determine how well they could inhibit the activity of alpha-glucosidase, an enzyme responsible for trigging the absorption of glucose by the small intestine. Compared with its paler counterpart, which was only able to inhibit the enzyme by only 20 percent, red wine outdid itself with nearly 100 percent.
"Our testing showed that red wine contains roughly ten times more polyphenolics than white wine," says Shetty. "Laboratory results suggest that these compounds, found in many plant-based foods, may play a role in inhibiting alpha-glucosidase and slowing the passage of carbohydrates into the bloodstream."
Four types of tea were also tested: black, oolong, white, and green. Water extracts of black tea had the highest effect on inhibiting alpha-glucosidase activity, followed by white and oolong teas.
A major challenge for diabetics is keeping blood-sugar levels as normal as possible, with few major fluctuations. Doing so can prevent the disease from contributing to heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as damaging the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels. ::University of Massachusetts Amherst
August 23 2011
You’ve heard it before, but why is it true?
By Sara Novak
Thu Aug 18, 2011 08:00
I stand by the research that my guilty pleasure, red wine is so loaded with antioxidants that it’s necessary to indulge in it regularly. It’s known for polyphenols found in grapes, which protect the body from free radicals that damage cells. Damaged cells can lead to a host of ailments down the line as well as aging.
Red wine has been specifically associated with cardiovascular health. While it makes sense that this results from the protection of cells in the body that lead to the breakdown of the cardiovascular system, a new study published in Food Research International points to more precise benefits.
According to Nutra Ingredients, red wine actually protects the Omega 3 fatty acids already in the body, which in turn protect the heart.
"The result of the present study indicate that red wine polyphenols protect omega 3 PUFA more than omega 6 PUFA of plasma," said the researchers led by Roberta Cazzola from the University of Milan, Italy.
Essential fatty acids are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids made from linolenic, linoleic, and oleic acids. The two essential forms are Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids and they are referred to as essential because the body cannot produce them on its on. They must be a part of your diet. Essential fatty acids regulate blood clotting, blood pressure, blood lipid levels, and the body's response to injury and infection.
The study investigated the omega fatty acids involved in inflammation, specifically DHA and EPA and found they were less vulnerable to breaking down in the body with the help of polyphenols. It's undoubtedly a reason to keep sipping (in moderation of course).
August 23 2011
From Health magazine
The list of wine’s benefits is long—and getting more surprising all the time. Already well-known as heart healthy, wine in moderation might help you lose weight, reduce forgetfulness, boost your immunity, and help prevent bone loss.
With America likely to edge out France and Italy in total wine consumption in the near future, according to one analyst, and with women buying more than 6 out of every 10 bottles sold in this country, we’re happy to report that wine may do all of the following:
1. Feed your head
Wine could preserve your memory. When researchers gave memory quizzes to women in their 70s, those who drank one drink or more every day scored much better than those who drank less or not at all. Wine helps prevent clots and reduce blood vessel inflammation, both of which have been linked to cognitive decline and heart disease, explains Tedd Goldfinger, DO, of the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Alcohol also seems to raise HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, which helps unclog your arteries.
2. Keep the scale in your corner
Studies find that people who drink wine daily have lower body mass than those who indulge occasionally; moderate wine drinkers have narrower waists and less abdominal fat than people who drink liquor. Alcohol may encourage your body to burn extra calories for as long as 90 minutes after you down a glass. Beer seems to have a similar effect.
3. Boost your body’s defenses
In one British study, those who drank roughly a glass of wine a day reduced by 11% their risk of infection by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, a major cause of gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancers. As little as half a glass may also guard against food poisoning caused by germs like salmonella when people are exposed to contaminated food, according to a Spanish study.
4. Guard against ovarian woes
When Australian researchers recently compared women with ovarian cancer to cancer-free women, they found that roughly one glass of wine a day seemed to reduce the risk of the disease by as much as 50 percent. Earlier research at the University of Hawaii produced similar findings. Experts suspect this may be due to antioxidants or phytoestrogens, which have high anticancer properties and are prevalent in wine. And in a recent University of Michigan study, a red wine compound helped kill ovarian cancer cells in a test tube.
5. Build better bones
On average, women who drink moderately seem to have higher bone mass than abstainers. Alcohol appears to boost estrogen levels; the hormone seems to slow the body’s destruction of old bone more than it slows the production of new bone.
6. Prevent blood-sugar trouble
Premenopausal women who drink one or two glasses of wine a day are 40 percent less likely than women who don’t drink to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a 10-year study by Harvard Medical School. While the reasons aren’t clear, wine seems to reduce insulin resistance in diabetic patients.
Debra Gordon
Last Updated: February 11, 2008
August 23 2011
As with many things, wine is good in moderation.
It is true that a glass of red wine a day is good for you - although I tend to drink a glass 6 out of 7 days of the week. Red wine is excellent at lowering the risk heart disease.
White wine isn't as good as red, but there are still benefits.
When consumed around mealtimes, alcohol reduces the proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMC) within the arteries. SMC growth is a key element in the develop-ment of atherosclerosis, which commonly leads to heart attacks and strokes [Source - Wilhelm Vetter, University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland.)
A Dutch study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that alcohol consumed with a meal may prevent blood clotting triggered by fat.
Moderate wine consumption also seems to be linked to reduction in the risk of strokes, and women wine drinkers have fewer kidney stones.
Wine of course, also contains a few calories, but nowhere near as many as beer or lager, so it's preferential to those.
Researchers at University of California at Davis have concluded that full-bodied dry red wines contain the highest levels of flavonoids and the greatest health benefits. The best wine for supplying the most flavonoids is Cabernet Sauvignon with Petite Syrah and Pinot Noir also ranking highly. Sweeter wines and white wines have less flavonoids and are less beneficial.