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Red Wine 101 ? The Basics and Benefits of Red Wine
Red wine is one of the more popular types of wine and this wine is almost always synonymous to romance, passion, and love. Wine in itself is already a symbol of all these things and the deep red color of the wine only enhances this symbolism. Red wine can be purchased at specialty stores that sell just wine or even at your local grocery store.
Red wine can be sweet or dry. Apart from the taste that people enjoy, there are many health benefits when you drink red wine. Grapes are naturally rich in resveratrol, an agent that is known to raise HDL levels in the body. HDL is good cholesterol and resveratrol also helps prevent blood clotting. In studies, it has shown that red wine can even lower your risk of heart disease by preventing plaques from forming in the arteries and by assisting in the healing of damaged blood vessels.
The recommended intake of red wine is one glass per day for women and two glasses per day for men. This is of course considering that you are already drinking alcoholic beverages. If you are not a habitual drinker, do not immediately change your drinking habits and take wine daily. This can even be harmful as this has been associated with the risk of cancer and weight gain due to empty calories when drinking wine. If you choose to add red wine to your diet, then gradually increase your intake over the course of a few months. This will allow your body to adjust to the processing of the alcohol.
There are many grape varieties that produce many varieties of red wine as well that are truly distinct from one another. Barbera is a red wine grape variety that has the same attributes as Merlot. A classic Italian red wine, Barbera has a silky texture and is best to be paired with tomato-based dishes. Zinfandel also works best with tomato-based dishes but also with grilled meats. This grape variety produces a red wine that has a zesty zing to it, almost spicy. Cabernet Sauvignon is the one that popularized the red wine and meat pairing. Perfect for almost any meat dish, this variety is full-bodied and its rich taste is due to its oak treatment.
Red wine will always be present no matter what the occasion is. Whether it is a delightful reunion with the family, a romantic candlelit dinner, or just enjoying an elegant dinner treat for yourself, the presence of red wine will truly add a splash of color and romance in every meal.
And just as with any other alcoholic beverage, drinking in moderation should be done because even if there are many health benefits that you can get, too much can be bad for you. Drink moderately and remember to enjoy your company no matter what type of wine or wine and food pairing that you have. After all, wine can only be enjoyed whenever you savor the moment, whether alone with your crystal glass or with the company of family and friends.
Red Wine Health Benefits
“French Paradox” may be the reason which might have sparked the interest of numerous people in red wine, considering its health benefits. This is the reason of which we may normally find a lower rate of heart related diseases in France. As such the diet of the French people is highly rich in fats, but then this seems to be against their good health, doesn’t it! Also the French people are highly found of eating more of cheese, butter, and beef as compared to their neighbors in Europe.
But now one general question which may arise in your mind is that in spite of taking a food so high in fats, how they can keep themselves away from the heart troubles. Answer is simple. According to many researchers, their food along with a lot of fats also consisted of a reasonable amount of red wine intake as compared to the rest of Europeans, and for that matter, even Westerners. Thus, this opened many windows for the researchers to study regarding the health benefits of consuming red wine, which was the answer to the above mentioned puzzle. So after conducting several thorough research, they found out that a temperate intake of red wine (one glass in case of women, and may be two in case of men) indeed helped one to protect himself/herself against diseases related to heart, cancer, and hypertension. Also it has a constructive effect over cholesterol levels.
But again, the key to this game is “moderation”. This isn’t really a case where one is good, two better, and ten best! But then, every coin always has two faces. Hence, the medical society is very vigilant to suggest red wine routines, and for some obvious reasons. Various studies have shown that in case of women who consumed alcohol daily were prone to be the potential victims of breast cancers.
As per a report in 2004 by the American Society of Cancer, the increase in the death rate due to breast cancer was 30% high in case of women who consumed alcohol daily. But if the consumption is only at the most two drinks every day, then the risk of diseases related to heart lowers from 30% to 50%. And since heart disease is the major slayer annually in case of women, these facts and figures happen to be important. Hence, if taken in a limit, wine has an overall positive impact on the female death ratio.
Scientists have pinpointed the beneficial element in red wine which is called resveratrol. Recent studies have dubbed resveratrol as an anti-aging miracle supplement.