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Austin Medical Center Investigates: Red Wine and Your Health

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red wine and your healthThere are many foods that straddle the wall between unhealthy and beneficial, and red wine is an interesting drink that studies have shown might actually offer health benefits with reasonable consumption.

We often associate alcohol with doing terrible things to the liver or alcoholism, but a growing body of evidence suggests red wine can actually prevent heart disease, as well as offer other health benefits.

A recent article from CNN reveals:

“A lot of the excitement over red wine in recent years has been around resveratrol and whether it can extend life, prevent cancer, cure Alzheimer’s — you name it. But that has obscured some of the more tried-and-true health benefits of wine. Since nearly the dawn of mankind, wine has been added to drinking water to kill bacteria, or consumed as a more hygienic alternative. More recently, the antimicrobial properties of wine, especially red wine, are being studied for cavity prevention.”

Red wine has been with us for millennia, and it’s gone through some interesting changes over those thousands of years as a beneficial drink for a number of maladies. Here are a few tips from your medical clinic in regards to red wine consumption for health.

 

The Ancients and Red Wine

There is evidence to suggest the ancient Egyptians were drinking red wine as part of herbal remedies alongside herbs like coriander and sage. Not only was the drink meant to help people with stomach problems, but the ancients even believed it could treat a variety of sicknesses like herpes.

However, a few thousand years later during the height of the Roman Empire, women were actually forbidden to drink red wine because of how they might act when drunk. Over the next several centuries, doctors and philosophers would begin to prescribe wine for a variety of ailments, including the common cold.

 

Modern Science Confirms Ancient Advice

The interesting thing about these medieval doctors prescribing red wine for the common old is that research conducted in the late 1990s actually confirmed what those doctors believed centuries ago.

“Total alcohol intake and beer and spirits consumption were not related to the occurrence of common cold, whereas consumption of wine was inversely associated with the risk of common cold.”

Essentially, drinking various types of alcohol wouldn’t necessarily mean a reduced risk of catching the common cold. However, researchers found that red wine could have a “protective effect” against the common cold.

 

Wine Kept the 19th Century Safe

A few hundred years ago, people around the world often had no access to clean water, and it was sometimes contaminated with deadly diseases like cholera and typhus. In the 1800s, wine was seen as the safest drink because of the likelihood that local water supplies were contaminated.

In addition to its reputation as a healthy alternative to water and milk, wine was even used to sanitize water in ancient Greece, and the practice of using wine as a “hygienic” beverage was popular throughout Europe until the early 20th century.

 

health benefits of red wineModern Attitudes on Wine and Alcohol

In the 1800s, a movement was started that extolled the virtues of moderate alcohol consumption. Called the “temperance” movement, people believed that excessive alcohol intake was dangerous for the body and led to alcoholism. However, the temperance movement transformed into a much more critical movement called “prohibition.” Adherents believed all alcohol was harmful in any amount.

Although the United States went through a dry period where alcohol was outlawed, prohibition didn’t last that long before it ended in 1933 and bars could legally open their doors again to patrons. In the decades since the end of prohibition, a variety of studies have shown the value of drinking red wine in moderate amounts after being declared healthy by a doctor or physician at a medical center.

One incredible study actually found that drinking moderate amounts of red wine was associated with a lower chance of death:

“Low to moderate intake of wine is associated with lower mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and other causes. Similar intake of spirits implied an increased risk, while beer drinking did not affect mortality.”

Research since that study has suggested that red wine might reduce prostate cancer risk in men and fight cavities by killing bacteria in the mouth. However, the studies showing a decrease in various health ailments and risks have been associated with light to moderate drinking. Most studies of heavy drinking have shown a higher rate of disease associated with too-frequent imbibing.

 

Are you interested in adopting a healthy lifestyle? Make an appointment with one of the friendly health professionals at Pro-Care Medical Center and learn how your family practice clinic can help you improve your health.

The post Austin Medical Center Investigates: Red Wine and Your Health appeared first on Pro-Care Medical Center.


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