Benefits of red wine & the breakeven is two glasses (every day)

Every year, the research on the health benefits of red wine piles up.  So, here’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while… make the case for drinking red wine (RW).

Sleepy baby:
New research shows that RW (especially Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, and Merlot) contains melatonin, which regulates the body clock.  Drinking a glass of RW before bed may help you sleep.  I personally find that 1 melatonin + 2 glasses of RW = 4 hits of the snooze alarm.

Heart & cholesterol:

RW contains the antioxidant resveratrol, which is studied more than college sophomores, by pharmaceutical companies because they think it’s a wonder drug.  It may prevent damage to blood vessels, reduce "bad" cholesterol, prevents blood clots, protect from obesity and diabetes, increase life expectancy, and reduces inflammation (which helps overall physical health since many diseases and ailments can be attributed to inflammation, including PMS).

Midnight toker:

If you smoke, RW decreases the harmful effect of smoking on the endothelium.  It also decreases your chances of getting lung cancer.

Atherosclerosis:

RW may prevent the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.

Hypertension:

There is some evidence that two (regular sized) glasses of RW with a meal can lower post-meal blood pressure in hypertensive persons.

Kidney stones:

RW reduces the risk of kidney stone formation.

Alzheimer's disease:

Moderate wine drinking correlates with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Cancer:

RW decreases your chances of getting prostate, lung & breast cancer.

Colds:
Researchers in Spain found that people who drank more than two (regular sized) glasses of RW per day have 44% fewer colds than people who abstain (from drinking RW).  Side note – this will not work if you get drunk from 2 glasses of RW & make-out with everybody in sight.