Drink wine for heart health...moderately that is

Posted by Jane N.

Alcohol is like a celebrity in the body. It passes through the crowd and goes directly to the front of the line. Unlike food, alcohol is immediately absorbed in the body. This is why within ten minutes of a glass of wine I announce I feel happy. And if anyone ever told me I couldn’t drink wine anymore I’d slap them in the face and tell them they need to be committed. We’ve all heard there may be benefits to drinking wine. It may help cholesterol by lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol and increasing “good” HDL cholesterol. Grapes offer a phytochemical called resveratrol (also in nuts) that aids in protecting from cancer and heart disease. It was thought that these positive attributes were only for red wine, but these benefits can be obtained from white wine too. So what’s drinking in moderation? For the average man, it’s two drinks and for the average woman it’s one per day. And no, you cannot save them all for the weekend. For wine a serving is considered 5oz, not a glass filled to the top. Be careful though! Most of us know how it feels to wake up after a night of overdrinking, not to mention it’s insanely dangerous. And trust me, it’s embarrassing to see pictures of yourself sleeping on the bathroom floor. Alcohol contains calories (7 calories/g) making it very easy to gain weight without even noticing. And with the added loss of judgment and common sense one drink easily translates into two. So feel free to have a (that means one) glass of wine a night!