I get this question often. We all know that wine has good qualities but where is the line between healthy and too much? Reports show that there is increased risk to the brain for high amounts of alcohol. But what is the middle position? So how much wine can I drink, well most recommendations land with 2 drinks per day for women and 3 per day for men.
Women and alcohol
This may be true for women under the age of 40, but what I have found is around 40 years old, daily alcohol consumption leads to weight gain. Let’s face it, alcohol is also sugar and sugar makes you fat. Simple fact. Women over 50 years old may have issues with alcohol because it can be a trigger for hot flashes. Oy! It’s hot in here.
Beneficial effects of low alcohol
New clinical research, on mice, shows that low doses of alcohol can aid in brain health. The study showed that low levels of alcohol helped the brain cells protect themselves against the build up of toxins. Simply put, alcohol helps your brain clean itself more effectively. You can listen to all the details of this research with this video from Dr. Perlmutter.
Red wine?
Well, historically red wine was used as medicine. Wines containing herbs have been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. They would infuse wine with mint, sage, juniper berries and other medicinal herbs. These were consumed to aid in a variety of health issues, most commonly, digestion.
The Verdict
[tweetthis]Consuming wine, in moderate amounts, can have a positive effect on your heart health, reduce oxidative stress as it’s filled with anti-oxidants, and even improve cognitive function [/tweetthis] as we see in the mice study previously mentioned. The primary anti-oxidants that you may be familiar with are quercetin and resveratrol.
So, it looks like some wine can be good for you.
Slange! Have a great week.
Donna
