The French Paradox, the fact that the French eat a diet high in saturated fat but have a low incidence of coronary artery diseases, has been known for a long time. The French diet should normally increase the incidence of coronary artery diseases, not lower it. The suggested explanation for the paradox has been the high consumption of red wine in France.

While alcohol normally increases your blood pressure, red wine has been proved to contain substances that lower the risk of heart diseases. As an additional bonus, red wine also contains substances that slow down ageing process. When the French Paradox was reported in the US back in 1991, the sales of red wine increased by almost 45 percent. White wine is produced in a different way and does not have the same positive health effects as its red colleague.

So how much is a healthy daily consumption of wine? Medical experts give a wide range of answers. Some don’t believe that red wine has any positive effect at all. But most research seems to confirm that one glass of wine a day can be good. Some push it towards two glasses, at least for men. The larger you are the more you can drink, smaller people are generally recommended to stick to one glass wine a day or less.

No medical expert recommends non-drinkers to start drinking red wine for health reasons. If you are drinking wine, it should be for pleasure. But it can be nice to known that in moderate quantities red wines can have some positive health effects as a bonus.

It’s worth remembering that while the French have a lower incidence of coronary artery disease they also have one of the highest rates of cirrhosis of the liver in the world. The latter is often caused by excessive drinking of alcohol. So once again, drink and enjoy your wine in moderation.

If you suffer from hypertension, trying more traditional remedies such as relaxation, physical activity and slow breathing, is a safer way of reducing your blood pressure.

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