| You're all aware of how beneficial a good cab or | | | | when breaks occur in our chromosomes, sirtuin is |
| pinot noir can be to a dinner party, or alongside a | | | | dispatched to repair them. As a result, the DNA |
| rare steak, but did you know that red wine health | | | | the sirtuin was guarding is left free to wreak |
| benefits are many and varied? It's true: those | | | | havoc on our cells. This period of unrest, scientists |
| commercials you always see touting the benefits | | | | believe, is when aging occurs. Drinking red wine |
| of drinking a single glass of red wine each day are | | | | and taking in resveratrol could mean improved |
| telling the truth. Recent scientific research is | | | | levels of anti-aging sirtuin. |
| showing that the red wine health benefits are | | | | Anti-Alzheimer's |
| even more extensive than we thought, | | | | Alzheimer's disease occurs when certain toxic |
| contributing to a boost in blood levels of healthy | | | | plaques form in the brain. These plaques are |
| omega-3 fatty acids, providing a shield against the | | | | formed by proteins - proteins which are blocked |
| effects of aging on our bodies, and reducing the | | | | by polyphenols. Polyphenols exist in red wine in |
| formation of the proteins that promote | | | | large amounts, and they don't just block the |
| Alzheimer's disease. Drinking red wine, it seems, | | | | formation of the plaque-forming proteins. They |
| isn't just delicious; it's also good for us. | | | | also reduce the toxicity of existing plaques, thus |
| Omega-3 Boost | | | | helping to prevent further cognitive degeneration. |
| Scientists examined three groups from three | | | | So it seems that for people already afflicted with |
| different European countries, each composed of | | | | Alzehimer's, the red wine health benefits are |
| people with different eating and drinking habits. | | | | worth drinking a glass or two a day. |
| Regardless of which type of alcohol was | | | | Red is best, of course, and the older the better. |
| consumed, there was an increase in omega-3 | | | | If you have a truly great bottle of mature wine, |
| levels in the blood - but it's already widely known | | | | you'll probably want to check out this video show |
| that all alcohol increases omega-3 viability. What | | | | you how to decant a mature wine. |
| was interesting is that red wine had a greater | | | | Mankind has been drinking wine since primal man |
| overall effect than either beer or wine, even | | | | found the first stash of fermenting grapes. Red |
| accounting for alcohol levels. The only logical | | | | wine remains the purest and least-processed |
| conclusion is that red wine health benefits include a | | | | form of mass-market alcohol, and the fact that |
| boost to omega-3 levels in the blood. | | | | these new red wine health benefits are being |
| Anti-Aging | | | | discovered should tell you that primal man had the |
| Resveratrol, a minor ingredient in red wine, was | | | | right idea when he started drinking red wine. The |
| shown to activate a protein called sirtuin that | | | | aforementioned studies may not prove that red |
| protects cells from its own DNA. Inside very cell | | | | wine is the miracle cure for anything at all, but at |
| are huge spools of DNA, a tiny fraction of which | | | | least we're on the right track toward |
| is in use at any given time; sirtuin keeps the rest | | | | understanding the role it plays in our health. In the |
| of the DNA under control in the meantime. But | | | | meantime, drink up! |