Sometimes, after a long day full of frustrations, stress and any other situation that caused discomfort, the only thing on your mind is a nice hot shower or bath, a bottle of wine and heading straight to bed. The shower to wash the day off, the glass of wine to unwind and the sleep to forget today even happened. Sounds like a relaxing night doesn’t it? Now think back to that glass of wine, what if the one glass of wine not only helped ease your mind and body but it also helps your heart? Is it true that a glass of wine a day can keep a heart attack away?
We all know that too much of anything can be dangerous, especially when it comes to consuming alcohol. Drinking too much liquor or too much wine often can have many negative effects on your body and health, but what about just the right amount? Does that affect your body negatively as well?
The answer is actually quite the opposite. When it comes to wine, there are actually certain health benefits that come with consuming the right amount.
In red wine, there are antioxidants called polyphenols and these polyphenols have the ability to help protect the blood vessel linings in the heart.
These antioxidants produce HDL (high-density lipoprotein), which is the “good” cholesterol that the body needs. The polyphenol called resveratrol is the substance that provides antioxidants. Resveratrol comes from the skin of grapes that are used to make wine.
It can also be found in foods such as blueberries, cranberries, and peanuts. Resveratrol can possibly help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is known as bad cholesterol.
It also might have the ability to prevent damage to the body’s blood vessels and prevent blood clots. This means that it can be slightly helpful if taken in moderation when drinking red wine.
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Both red and white wine are made from fermented grape skins so both do contain the resveratrol, its antioxidants and fighting properties but red wine would most likely be better for your heart. The reason red wine would be better is because of its creation process. The grape skins are fermented longer with red wine than with white wine. Since the fermentation is longer, that means more polyphenols are subjected to form making it contain more resveratrol.
Indulging in too much wine and alcohol can cause serious and life-threatening problems. It’s important to drink in moderation or to not indulge at all. When consuming too much wine and alcohol not only can it become a disease such as addiction, but you’re also subjected to the risk of weight gain, liver as well as pancreas diseases, stroke, high blood pressure and heart failure.
Heart failure? Yes, because regardless of the antioxidants that could benefit you from consuming wine, it’s still a type of alcoholic beverage that can lead to life-threatening problems if consumed too often.
Overindulging can also lead to violence, terrible accidents, you causing harm to yourself such as suicide, and even certain types of cancers.
If you have a personal or family history of alcohol use, are pregnant, take medications, have a weak heart or heart failure, or suffer from liver and pancreas problems, then you should avoid alcohol use. Foods give you just as many and if not more, antioxidants to help with your heart.
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There are many ingredients used when it comes to making wine but the one ingredient that you should be mindful of is sugar. Grape juice concentrate is an ingredient that creates the wine by its juice that comes directly from grapes.
Then there is sugar that is added to that in the wine making process. This is something to be mindful of because the grape juice concentrate already contains natural sugar, so adding more sugar can in fact make the wine unhealthy. Another ingredient to be mindful of is sulfur and though sulfur in wine is not bad nor harmful, there are still people who are affected by it especially in large amounts.
With that being said, the question “does a glass of wine a day keep a heart attack away” can be answered with this, though wine (specifically red) has the properties to lower the risk of heart problems if consumed moderately; it most likely won’t be the stopping factor of a heart attack. So remember, if you do drink wine, do it in moderation. Enjoy a glass of wine for relaxation, not because it will prevent a heart attack.
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