Tag Archives: red wine

Wine’s Health Benefits Only Work When You Workout

wine

Responsibly indulging in wine has been shown to have a variety of positive health impacts. From heart health to stronger teeth, red wine can improve a lot when it comes to your health. However, it’s not just enough to hit the hooch.

A comprehensive study shows that wine only protects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people who also exercise.

“We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised,” said Professor Taborsky, researcher on the study. “Red and white wine produced the same results.”

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Posted on September 5, 2023 by Elizabeth

Fight Cavities with Red Wine? New Research Says It’s Possible

Just in case you were looking for another reason to enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner, researchers have found a pretty good one. While red wine is known to stain your teeth, it can also help prevent you from developing cavities in them.

wine and grapes

It’s been known for a while that red wine is beneficial for heart health. Drinking a glass once in a while can lower your risk of heart disease and could also possibly raise your HDL or “good cholesterol.”

Now researchers have found red wine, and grape seed extract, could prevent cavities. It had been previously suggested that polyphenols, grape seed extract, and wine may slow the bacterial growth that can cause cavities, but the theory hadn’t been tested until recently.

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Posted on June 2, 2023 by Elizabeth

Sticky Red Wine Chicken and Veggies Stir Fry is Way Better than Carryout!

The conversation with my husband that I dread more than any other is, “what would you like to have for dinner this week?” And then he shrugs.

How can someone have so little opinion about what they eat? For an uber-picky eater like myself, I want absolute involvement.

red wine stir fry

So when, one day, he said, “Can you make this?” and shared a recipe for chicken and asparagus stir fry, he had my attention. I agreed to make it and put it on the weekly meal plan – I wanted to reward him, if you will, for being involved in the decision! But also, the simple ingredients showed promise of being a really easy dinner that tasted great.

Winner winner Asian-inspired chicken dinner… this has become a go-to staple in our house! (more…)

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Natalie K

Work it Off: Burn Away the 250 Calories from 2 Glasses of Red Wine

This year my family skipped the holiday get-together, opting instead to gather for a mid-January weekend in Sonoma, California. Sonoma, which is about an hour and a half north of San Francisco, is in the heart of California wine country. My parents, sister, and I all agreed this was the perfect destination for a getaway because we’re all oenophiles. (Oenophile? I know. It’s a pretentious word that’s impossible to pronounce, but it sounds so much more dignified than, “we all really enjoy a good glass of Pinot”.)

  REd wine

It probably goes without say that there was a lot of wine on the menu this weekend. There were wine tastings at a few vineyards and then large dinners which were, of course, accompanied by more vino. The food was spectacular—that’s another given in NorCal—but it’s the wine I’m most worried about throwing off my resolutions.

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Posted on January 19, 2024 by Jessica Cassity

How to Cook for Heart Health

February is National Heart Health Month, making it the perfect time to highlight some foods that promote heart health, as well as list those that do more harm than good.

While heart disease can be hereditary, its prevention begins with a healthy lifestyle. For starters, this means no smoking, monitoring your blood sugar and blood pressure levels, and incorporating exercise and a healthy, well-balanced diet into your everyday routine. 

Diet alone can play a huge role in heart disease prevention. In general, heart healthy foods are ones that are natural, whole foods that don’t come in a box and instead come straight from nature. Fresh fruits and vegetables are certainly a cornerstone of heart-healthy foods for their high nutrient and vitamin content and their amazing ability to cleanse free radicals from the blood stream. (more…)

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Dana

Red Wine’s Health Benefits May Have Resulted from Falsified Research Data

Wine lovers may be in for some bad news. Reports are surfacing that one of the top red wine researchers has falsified some of his findings. In particular, the data that pointed to the health benefits of red wine and its anti-aging properties may be false.

Dr. Dipak K. Das is the director of the cardiovascular research center at the University of Connecticut. An anonymous report dating back to 2024 that Das had falsified his data initiated an investigation that is now coming to light. A 60,000-page report is citing 145 counts of falsified data.

His research includes studies on resveratrol, a compound found in red wine and touted for many benefits. Those benefits have translated to the encouragement of red wine consumption. Studies have suggested that resveratrol may have the ability to stave off the effects of sedentary living, possibly reduce skin cancer risks, lower “bad” cholesterol levels, or even protect the lining of the heart blood vessels. (more…)

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Lacy

SkinnyGirl Cocktails Eliminated from Whole Foods’ Shelves

Natural grocer Whole Foods recently decided to pull the popular SkinnyGirl cocktail line from their shelves.

Whole Foods claims that the low calorie alcohol beverages contain unnatural ingredients. Lisa DeFazio, MS, RD, and Hollywood Nutrition Expert, said that Whole Foods allegedly removed the popular beverages because they contained caramel coloring, which was not within their definition of “natural.”

According to the Whole Foods blog, natural can be quite a complicated definition.

“‘Natural,’ on the other hand, doesn’t have a strong governmental definition when it comes to food, so my team (the Quality Standards Team) spends quite a lot of time defining which ingredients make up the natural foods we sell in our stores. The basic tenets of our standard require that our products are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners and hydrogenated fats,” Joe Dickson, Global Quality Standards Coordinator for Whole Foods wrote.

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Posted on August 31, 2023 by Jamie

Drinking Wine as Part of a Heart Healthy Diet

Guest blogger, Vicki L. VanArsdale is a freelance writer, certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant. By adopting a healthy and active lifestyle, she has lost 100 lbs. Her mission is to motivate and inspire people through her actions and words. Get healthy from the inside, out is her motto. Learn more on Vicki’s blog.

Did you know that a glass of wine can be considered part of a healthy lifestyle? For those who live in other parts of the world, a glass of wine is common with meals. Here in the U.S., the problem is binge drinking. But having a glass of wine once in a while is just fine.

Many studies indicate that moderate amounts of red wine lowers the risk of heart disease and may raise high density lipoprotein (HDL), which is known as the “good” cholesterol. Moderate means one glass of wine per day for women and two for men.  The American Heart Association says one serving of wine is four ounces, so be vigilant with your serving size. And women who have the breast cancer gene should avoid alcohol because of its potential to increase risk of the disease. (more…)

Posted on February 5, 2024 by heather

Mediterranean Diet Lowers Heart Disease Risk

It’s tough to beat something that you are genetically predisposed to. It’s so sad to see young people who suffer from heart problems, because it runs in the family. But, if you are worried about your heart health because your mom’s or dad’s side of the family has a history of the ailment, there may be hope.

According to a new study, people who eat a Mediterranean diet, even those with a genetic predisposition for heart problems, have better heart function.

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Posted on June 17, 2023 by Jason

Busting Common Food Myths

With so much information at our fingertips from the news on TV and online, it can be overwhelming to try to distinguish fact from fiction. For example, how many times have you heard or been told that sugars are bad for you? Well, the truth is that not all sugars are bad. But, depending on your source you may have heard a different opinion. Let’s get started and bust six common food myths:

Myth: Eggs cause your cholesterol to rise.

Fact: Our bodies generate and create their own cholesterol, so rarely do we need any help with getting more or less through food and diet. Saturated fat and trans fat are the bad fats that impact our body’s cholesterol levels, leading them to rise above regulated levels. Eggs are rich in vitamins and minerals that are good for you and have a relatively small amount of saturated fat that, when eaten in moderation, should not cause any increase to cholesterol levels. Go ahead and keep eggs in your meals.
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Posted on May 8, 2023 by Amy

Is Resveratrol Really Reversing the Aging Process?

What is Resveratrol?
red grapesResveratrol is a natural compound found in the skin of grapes (therefore, also in red wine) that is claimed to drastically reduce aging related illnesses, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. The claim behind this is that you will live longer and live a healthier life.  Dr. Oz discussed taking resveratrol in supplement form on Oprah raving about how he takes it and how pleased he is with it. This supplement is supposed to make you healthier while helping you lose weight and prolong your life. This supplement is supposedly able to counter the multiple negative effects of a high fat diet.

There are now many resveratrol supplements on the market that contain a very high concentration of resveratrol.  In fact, to receive the amount of resveratrol in these supplements you would have to drink 1,000 bottles of wine a day, which obviously would not be recommended. (more…)

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Kinsey