Four benefits of drinking red wine
Decades of research into red wine corroborate that the benefits extend beyond just helping you relax or delighting your taste buds. Here are four of them.
Wine has been a staple in cultures for centuries, but it wasn’t just as a way to unwind or the final touch for a romantic dinner — our ancestors also used it as medicine.
There’s something about red wine at the end of the week that is as close as you can get to a smile in a glass. It pairs just as well with a fancy meal as it does with some quality me-time and a Netflix binge, but decades of research corroborate that the benefits extend beyond just helping you relax or delighting your taste buds.
What makes red wine your friend
Red wine contains quercetin and resveratrol, two powerful — and necessary — antioxidants.
Resveratrol — also found in blueberries, peanuts, pistachios, and cranberries, helps promote circulate, which in turn aids cellular and tissue health and helps ward off premature aging.
Quercetin — produced by certain plants in response to stressors like fungi or injury — has anti-inflammatory properties and can guard against damage from free radicals. Lowering inflammation in your body can be helpful with heart disease, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and more.
Here are some of the other ways a limited consumption of red wine can act like a superfood:
Stronger bones
Though excessive drinking can weaken bones and increase the likelihood of fractures, light to moderate red wine consumption has been found to improve bone mineral density (BMD). This can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis when we’re older, which makes us much more susceptible to injury.
Sharper memory
Sure, alcohol and memory don’t always go hand in hand, but if you enjoy a glass of vino with dinner, you could be boosting your brain power. Trusty old resveratrol was found to preserve essential synapses that relay information between the brain and muscles. In addition to keeping things more supple, it can also restrict the development of a protein that’s associated with Alzheimer’s.
Regulated blood sugar levels
Though supermarket wines can be loaded with added sugar, high-quality, organic red wine can actually make the movement of glucose through the small intestine more gradual, which reduces spikes in blood sugar levels. This means that it can be included in a diet plan for those with diabetes.
Healthy heart
Quercetin, resveratrol, and polyphenols can help slow down a build up of fats, cholesterol, and plaque in artery walls. A study in the International Journal of Molecule Medicine found this actually decreased mortality rates compared to people who abstained from red wine or chronic drinkers. Resveratrol can also help protect the heart from tissue damage while relaxing coronary arteries, which aids in preventing cardiovascular disease. Even better, it’s been found to boost the amount of HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol, in our bodies.
Keep in mind that while a light consumption of red wine can have benefits both physical and mental, alcohol is a neurotoxin and should be limited to keep your brain and body healthy. If you’re in the middle of a detox, it’s best to avoid it altogether.
Enjoy a glass of red with one of our pre-packaged, plant-powered meals. At Soulara, we’re driven to bring you nutrient-packed, delicious food that will leave you happy, healthy, sexy, and strong. We’ll raise a glass to that.
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