Heart Health

5 Tips for a Heart-Healthy Holiday Season

Cardiac incidents, including heart attacks, typically increase during the holidays. Dr. Christopher Cutitta, a St. Luke’s University Health Network cardiologist, points to a variety of factors contributing to this unfortunate seasonal heart health trend. These factors include changes in diet and nutrition, disruption of health routines and holiday-related stress. Help keep your holiday season happy by giving your heart health the extra support it needs with these heart-healthy holiday tips.

Moderation Is The Key

The temptation to overindulge in holiday treats, such as sweets and foods high in fat and sodium can be hard to resist. However, there is a difference between the occasional indulgence and overindulging. Putting on weight during the holiday season is easy when overindulgence becomes a pattern. Instead, take a mindful approach to holiday eating. Enjoy every bite, but be firmly guided by the principle of moderation. By spending your calories wisely and developing good portion control skills, you can still enjoy holiday treats.

That Also Applies To Alcohol

Moderation also applies to alcohol intake. Getting together with family and friends can easily result in drinking more than usual. Aside from increasing calorie intake, overindulging in alcohol can contribute to what is often termed holiday heart syndrome. The term is used to describe the atrial fibrillation and heart arrhythmia associated with heavier drinking and binge drinking patterns.

That fast or irregular heartbeat connected to drinking in excess can lead to more serious cardiac incidents in people already facing heart health challenges. A domino effect of one problem leading to the next can take place, resulting in a serious cardiac event. It’s better to limit drinking during the holidays because this season already has a lot of heart-health-impacting factors at play. For a heart-healthy holiday, stay hydrated by substituting water for some, if not most or all, alcoholic drinks.

Don’t Slack on Nutrition

Diet and nutrition are critical elements of heart health. During the holiday season, it can be all too tempting to overindulge on holiday treats. That can easily result in eating less of the nutritionally sound, real food best for heart health, even when practicing moderation with holiday eating. Rather than fall short nutritionally, consider adding nutritional supplements to your holiday season routine. Those already facing heart-health challenges and those with a higher than average risk of developing heart problems may want to consider supplements that specifically promote heart health.

Look for a high-quality, science-based supplement that promotes cardiac system health via essential heart-health nutrients. These include all of the B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, the L-amino acids, lycopene and biotin, along with other nutrients, all in just the right balance. Ensuring proper nutrition is a smart decision for helping protect heart health at any time of year, but can be especially important during the holiday season.

Maintain Healthy Routines

With all of the holiday preparations and events, healthy routines are often disrupted. People traveling to visit family and friends may forget to pack cardiac medications. In the hustle and bustle of the season, some forget to take essential heart medications at the usual times. Winter weather plus the holiday season can disrupt exercise habits, reducing physical activity.

For optimum heart health, and a heart-healthy holiday season in particular, it’s important to maintain healthy routines. If family or friends visiting has led to skipping the gym, slip in some extra physical activity daily. Show off your local parks to your visitors and get everybody out walking. Give the dog an extra walk and make it a brisk one. Find or create a simple home work out to do. Make sure that you don’t allow your sleep schedule to be overly disrupted.

Utilize Stress Management Strategies

Time pressures, money worries, emotionally stressful family gatherings and coping with the loss of a loved one are just a sampling of the stress that can be heightened during the holiday season. Stress is a major player in heart health, so learning to manage it in healthy ways is essential. Stress can impact heart health in two ways: directly, through the production of stress hormones like cortisone, and indirectly via your actions, like drinking or eating unhealthy comfort foods to alleviate stress.

Good nutrition and exercise help alleviate stress in ways that promote health. Meditation is another effective means. Developing concrete skills to target the sources of stress can be highly effective in reducing holiday stress. For example, developing time management skills can help increase productivity and reduce lateness, thereby reducing stress. Learning conflict resolution skills and strategies can help with difficult family situations.

Emotionally-based stress related to grieving can be trickier to navigate. However, helping others through meaningful volunteer work is often very helpful, turning focus outward and reducing the opportunity to dwell on one’s own pain and loss by helping others. The holiday season can be especially lonely for many people, so even something as simple as visiting seniors in nursing homes can make a real difference.

Take It One Choice At A Time

As Dr. Elizabeth Klodas points out, better heart health is made up of a multitude of small choices. For a more heart-healthy holiday season, continuously strive to make more great choices than poor ones, indulging wisely while enjoying the season and the people you share it with.

Whole Body Vibration Benefits the Microbiome and More

Oct 14 by Ewcopywriting

While you may not be familiar with whole body vibration, or WBV, it’s a practice that has been around for several decades. New research has found that whole body vibration benefits include a reduction in inflammation, while it also promotes a healthier gut microbiome.

What is Whole Body Vibration?

Initially introduced in the early 1990s, whole body vibration is a form of passive exercise that involves using vibrations to send waves of energy through the entire body. The process involves standing, sitting or lying on a platform and enduring a series of vibrations. The vibrating energy causes your muscles to contract and expand repeatedly throughout the process, helping to grow and tone muscle mass. Daily 15 minute sessions may promote weight loss, improve blood flow and decrease the production of stress hormones.

In one recent study, subjects were divided into two groups, and each group had their oxygen intake and energy usage measured during physical activity. The subjects in the first group were subjected to WBV treatments before the trial, while the second group did not participate in WBV activities.

The researchers found that those subjects who received the whole body vibrations experienced over 22 percent greater oxygen intake and 20 percent greater energy usage. This indicates that the use of WBV along with a regular exercise routine may promote greater weight loss.

Additional research has found that whole body vibration benefits also include reversing conditions such as fatty liver disease and glucose intolerance. It has also been found to be effective in alleviating back pain, reducing bone loss and improving muscle coordination in senior adults. As more studies are conducted, there’s hope that WBV treatments will be effective in promoting better health in other ways.

New Research Pinpoints Whole Body Vibration Benefits

A recent study at Augusta University in Georgia focused on discovering why and how WBV treatments improve metabolic health, after discovering the positive effects it exhibited for type 2 diabetics. The research project involved studying mice with leptin deficiencies, since this abnormality raises the risk for obesity and insulin resistance. Obesity and insulin resistance both increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, so the researchers sought out test mice that exhibited these characteristics.

The study involved examining the microphages in the mice, which are cells in the immune system that are associated with the gut microbiome and general body inflammation. The mice were separated into a control group and a test group, with the mice in the test group receiving daily WBV treatments for a period of four weeks. At the end of the four weeks, each of the mice was evaluated by taking body fat and stool samples for analysis.

One of the findings involved an increased diversity in the gut microbiome, which helped reduce inflammation. In particular, the presence of alistipes, a type of bacteria that promotes the production of short-chain fatty acids in the body, was increased. These short-chain fatty acids are able to attack inflammation and reduce its presence wherever it occurs in the body. This bacteria is also responsible for helping the body extract butyrate from daily fiber, which helps reduce the dangers of a high-fat diet.

Whole body vibration helped to combat inflammation in the mice in another way; by increasing the presence of M2 macrophages. These immune cells are tasked with increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokines, and as a result, new inflammation is suppressed. The researchers found that shorter WBV sessions that were combined with alistipes supplements also helped improve metabolic health. Although they admit that more research is needed in this area, they feel hopeful that regular WBV treatment can help people reach and maintain more optimal metabolic health.

How Can You Protect Your Gut Microbiome?

Eat a Diverse Plant-Based Diet

Most of your meals should be comprised of plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts. You should also try to pick a variety of foods by choosing fruits and veggies with a broad range of colors. This will ensure you get a good sampling of vitamins, while also exposing your gut microbiome to a more diverse selection of helpful microbes.

Eat High-Fiber Foods

Some foods that are high in fiber include onions and similar foods, such as leeks and garlic. Artichokes are also high-fiber foods. Eating more of these types of veggies will help, because it takes longer for the body to digest natural fiber. As a result, the prebiotics in the fiber will be absorbed into the gut microbiome, where they nourish the bacteria already thriving there.

Fast Without Snacking

When you fast for several hours without snacking or drinking, you’ll be giving your gut microbiome an opportunity to rest. This will give that community of microbes an opportunity to do other work in your body, such as boosting immunity, so you’ll feel healthier. Additionally, weight gain is reduced overall by periods of fasting.

Take a Daily Probiotic/Prebiotic Supplement

There are high-quality supplements on the market that provide the body with a supply of both probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotic supplements supply “friendly” bacteria to the gut, and help promote a healthy and diverse gut microbiome. Once ingested, prebiotics are used by the gut microbiome to fortify the existing microbes in the body. This helps the gut microbiome function better and grow more diverse. Prebiotics can also boost colon health and improve digestive functions.

Spend More Time Outdoors

Improving the diversity of your gut bacteria will help you maintain better overall health, but eating more plant-based foods isn’t the only method. You can also expose your gut microbiome to more bacteria by spending more time outdoors, especially when you spend that time away from the city. Go to a favorite park or drive out to the country for the day. As you relax in nature, you’ll breathe in bacteria that your gut can use to manage your health.

Three Surprising Ways to Boost Heart Health

Oct 06 by Ewcopywriting

Taking good care of your heart will help you live a longer and overall healthier life. With this in mind, there are many commonly accepted practices you can adopt to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. Recently, heart health research has also uncovered a few surprising new ways to protect your heart and cardiovascular system, including keeping a dog and eating certain foods.

Commonly Accepted Heart-Healthy Activities

The following suggestions can help you maintain good cardiovascular health as you grow older by keeping oxygenated blood flow at an optimum level.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

The ideal amount of sleep for adults is seven to nine hours per night. In some studies, getting less than five hours or more than nine hours resulted in a buildup of calcium in the blood; elevated calcium levels are considered an early warning sign of heart disease. Keeping nightly sleep duration between seven and nine hours can help protect against too much calcium in the arteries.

Eat a Healthier Diet

To maintain a healthy heart, it’s important to limit unhealthy fats and high-cholesterol foods, while also avoiding excessive sugar, alcohol and salt consumption. While this may seem like a tall order, it can be easier to accomplish by switching to a primarily plant-based diet. Three-quarters of each meal should be comprised of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. You can add a small portion of lean red meat and whole grains if necessary.

Get More Exercise

The heart is a muscle and, like any other muscle, it grows stronger with regular exercise. Getting a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity exercise every day will keep your heart strong. Daily physical activity should consist of both resistance training (weight lifting) and cardio (jogging, bicycling, swimming) to help burn fat and build muscle.

New Heart Health Research Links the Brain and Heart

Recent heart health research has found a strong connection between the brain and the cardiovascular system. In one study, it was found that cardiovascular disease had an adverse effect on cognitive functioning, increasing the rate at which dementia developed. This connection prompted a new study that looked at how genetic and environmental factors affected the development of the brain and the cardiovascular system. The study, which was undertaken at Atlanta’s Emory University, tried to answer this question by looking at twins.

The researchers assembled 272 pairs of fraternal and identical twins for the study, while ensuring all of the subjects had not been diagnosed with dementia or cardiovascular disease. They examined cognitive functioning and compared those results with cardiovascular health, which was measured by taking blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and body mass measurements. They also considered diet and physical activity levels in determining their findings.

In general, they found that genetic factors seemed to play a large role in cognitive and cardiovascular health. Regardless of whether the subjects were identical or fraternal twins, they seemed to share similar health levels. They also found that, while genetics played a major role, cognitive and cardiovascular health could also be modified through lifestyle habits. The researchers concluded that adopting heart-healthy practices early in life could benefit the heart and the brain simultaneously.

New and Surprising Ways to Keep Your Heart Strong and Healthy

Recently, heart health research has discovered a few new and surprising ways to maintain a healthy heart.

Owning a Dog Protects Heart Health

In looking at the results of two studies, it was found that dog owners are less likely to die following a stroke or heart attack. In addition to reducing the risks of cardiovascular events, the research also found that owning a dog reduced the risks of mortality from all causes.

The first study looked at 186,421 heart attack survivors and 157,851 stroke survivors to see how many of the subjects had owned dogs. They found that dog owners had a significantly reduced risk of death following heart attack or stroke and subsequent hospitalization. Dog owners who had suffered heart attacks had a 33 percent reduced risk of death, while stroke sufferers had a 27 percent lower risk.

Music Reduces Stress That Contributes to Heart Disease

In a separate Brazilian study, researchers found that listening to music while driving also helped reduce the type of stress that contributes to heart disease. The study examined young, inexperienced female drivers between the ages of 18 and 23. None of the subjects had had their driver’s license for more than seven years. The researchers also chose drivers who drove less than twice a week because they felt people who drove more frequently wouldn’t experience the same level of stress.

The test consisted of driving three kilometers over a period of 20 minutes through Manila’s busiest streets. The first time each driver navigated this route, they had to do so with the radio off. The second time, they listened to music as they drove the three kilometers. By measuring the heart rate of each subject, the researchers were able to determine the drivers experienced less stress when they were able to listen to music. When they were driving in silence, their heart rates were higher and exhibited fewer rest periods, indicating heightened levels of stress.

Beans and Peas Provide Cardiovascular Benefits

Another recent research project focused on the cardiovascular benefits of consuming more legumes, particularly peas and beans. These foods are known to be rich in protein, fiber and micronutrients, while also possessing very low levels of fat and sugar. Due to these health benefits, people suffering from diabetes, low blood pressure and high cholesterol are encouraged to consume more legumes on a daily basis.

The new study found that people who ate more peas and beans exhibited a decreased risk for cardiovascular events. Specifically, the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by up to 13 percent, depending on how many legumes were consumed on a daily basis. The more legumes that were consumed, the greater the reduction in risk for developing cardiovascular disease. The researchers noted that eating legumes didn’t seem to affect the likelihood of diabetes, myocardial infarction or stroke. They also added that mortality rates from all causes may not be affected by legume consumption. Future research is needed to verify these findings, but it seems that replacing carbs with legumes can help protect your heart and improve overall longevity.

Work-family Conflict Affects Women More Than Men

Sep 25 by Ewcopywriting

We all know that stress can affect physical health in a number of ways, partially because it weakens the immune system. Studies have also found that stress influences cardiovascular health, increasing the risk of suffering from a heart attack or stroke. In a recent study, it was found that the stress caused by trying to balance work and family, or work-family conflict affects women more than men, contributing to this risk. This may be one reason women face a greater risk overall of suffering from a cardiovascular event.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels all fall under the broader term of cardiovascular disease, and many of those conditions are caused by atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition resulting from plaque accumulation on the walls of the arteries, which causes blood flow to become inhibited. Since blood flows more slowly, clots can form that block blood from passing through the arteries and reaching the brain, heart and other vital organs, boosting the probability that a stroke or heart attack will occur.

There are certain factors that can increase your risk for developing cardiovascular disease, which are listed below.

Age

As we get older, the heart grows weaker and the arteries constrict or grow more narrow.

Gender

Early in life, men face a greater risk. However, as women get older and experience menopause, their risks increase significantly.

Heredity

A family history of heart disease increases risks for developing it later in life.

Smoking

Nicotine causes your blood vessels to narrow, while cigarette smoke also weakens the blood vessel walls from the inside.

Poor Diet

Fat, sugar, cholesterol and salt all contribute to the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels.

Poor Health

Other conditions that raise your risks include obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and stress.

Most people may suspect that they suffer from cardiovascular disease because the symptoms are not difficult to recognize. Primarily, symptoms include chest pains, including tightness and general discomfort in the chest. These episodes are typically accompanied by shortness of breath or labored breath. It’s common for the blood vessels in the legs and arms to become constricted and weakened as well. When this occurs, you’ll feel numbness, weakness or pain in your limbs. The limbs may also feel cold. Pain may also be felt in the jaw, throat, neck, back or upper abdomen.

How Does Work-Family Conflict Stress Affect Cardiovascular Health?

Recent research examining how work-family conflict affects women has found that stress, which is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is greater for women who struggle to maintain a balance between work and family life. The researchers looked over 27 studies to find a correlation between work-related stress and a higher risk of developing certain cardiovascular diseases. In particular, work-related stress was associated with a higher risk for experiencing stroke and coronary heart disease.

Taking it a step further, a newer study looked specifically at how trying to establish a proper work-family balance affected stress and cardiovascular risks. They looked at several lifestyle factors to help them gain an accurate understanding of these correlations, including diet, blood pressure and physical activity. The study sought to identify how stress caused by both work and by family pressure affected stress and health.

The Brazilian study examined a group of 11,000 subjects, ranging in ages from 35 through 74. Education and work backgrounds varied among the subjects, although women made up a higher portion of the individuals in the group. In addition to recording blood pressure and cardiovascular health, subjects were asked to complete surveys that examined how their jobs and family lives affected one another.

More women than men reported that their work lives interfered with their family lives, while both genders reported similar interference of their family lives on their work lives. It was also found that, when looking solely at job stress in general, the levels were fairly equal between the two sexes. Researchers believe the disparities noted are due to the fact that women may feel a greater need to try to maintain their traditional role in the home as they pursue careers. The way that work-family conflict affects women creates greater levels of stress than in men, who may not ordinarily face that same situation.

How Can You Protect Your Cardiovascular Health?

Ditch the Empty Calories

One of the first things you should do to protect cardiovascular health is to get rid of foods that don’t contribute to good heart health. Primarily, this means throwing out items that are high in calories and low in nutritional value. Soda pop, baked goods and sugary cereals top that list.

Take a Supplement

You can also add a dietary supplement to your routine that promotes better heart health. For example, Cardiochron contains vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants that specifically support healthier cardiovascular functioning. It also helps your body fight free radicals while ensuring that your cellular health is better protected.

Snack Smart Throughout Your Day

Rather than eating three big meals every day, it’s important to eat wisely. It’s best to start off with a moderate breakfast that includes good natural sources of protein and fiber. An omelet that’s prepared with fresh veggies is one suggestion. For the remainder of the day, choose healthy snacks to munch on periodically, such as almonds, carrot sticks and cheese. This will help you eat less at dinner.

Get More Exercise

The minimum requirement for physical activity is 30 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity exercise every day. However, you should try to get more physical activity than that each day. You can choose the parking space that’s furthest from the entrance, take the stairs instead of the elevator or ride a bicycle to run errands to increase the amount of exercise you do.

Sleep Better Every Night

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of sleep. This is a restful period for the body, but it also gives your brain and body time to recover. You should put away electronic devices at least one hour before bed and use that time to engage in relaxing activities. You can read, meditate or listen to music. When it is time for bed, be sure your room is cool and relaxing. You may have to buy new bedding that’s more comfortable or wear earplugs and a sleep mask to sleep more soundly.

The Amazing Health Benefits of Bitter Melon

May 13 by Ewcopywriting

Bitter melon is a little-known fruit that looks very similar to the cucumber and zucchini, which is because it comes from the same family of plants. While each type of food offers some health benefits, bitter melon may surpass its relatives in what it can do for the human body. Among the vast health benefits of bitter melon, recent research finds that this plant food may promote healthy cell growth, helping to protect against the spread of cancer.

What is Bitter Melon?

Originating in South India, bitter melon was first imported by China in the 1300s and, as it gained popularity, was highly exported to Africa and parts of the Caribbean. The food is particularly bitter, which is how it gets its name, and for that reason has become a staple food in Asian cuisine.

It’s long been known that bitter melon is good for human health, particularly because it’s low in calories. At just 20 calories per cup, you can satisfy hunger cravings without filling up on large amounts of calories. Additionally, bitter melon is packed with vitamins and nutrients. Some of the nutritional benefits it provides includes significant servings of vitamins A, B6, C and D. Additionally, it’s packed with calcium, iron and magnesium.

Beyond these essential nutrients, research has found that bitter melon may be responsible for helping us guard against common health conditions that can affect longevity and overall quality of life. For instance, some recent research has found that bitter melon may encourage healthy cell growth, helping to protect against the spread of certain types of cancer.

How Does Bitter Melon Promote Healthy Cell Growth?

A study conducted at Missouri’s Saint Louis University used mice to determine how bitter melon affected the development and spread of cancerous tumors. In the first stage of the study, bitter melon extract was injected into various types of cancer cells, including those from breast and prostate cancer subjects. In this initial part of the research, it was found that the extract seemed to prevent the spread of cancer cells, but Professor Ratna Ray, who headed the project, wanted to confirm those findings.

Using laboratory mice with tongue cancer, the research team looked to see how and why bitter melon appeared to discourage the spread of cancerous cells. In uninterrupted conditions, the body allows fat and glucose to feed cancer cells, which helps them grow and multiply. However, once the bitter melon extract was introduced into the cancer cells, those cells were no longer able to draw nourishment from that process. As a result, cancer cells were unable to continue to spread.

The results were similar in other types of animal testing, showing that the bitter melon extract limited cancer growth by nearly 50 percent in all studies. Additionally, the extract was able to kill the cancer cells to which it was exposed in some of the tests.

While these results are promising, Professor Ray says results in human subjects may differ. She hopes to duplicate the findings in human cancer patients to prove that bitter melon can be effective in promoting healthy cell growth and discouraging the spread of various types of cancer. In the meantime, bitter melon is still a healthy food and can benefit anyone who adds it to their diet. In fact, there are many more health benefits of bitter melon; some of them are listed below.

Additional Health Benefits of Bitter Melon

Helps Manage Blood Sugar Levels

In a 90-day study, researchers monitored the blood sugar levels for 24 adults, who were administered daily doses of bitter melon extract. They found that the 2,000 mg daily dose of bitter melon was sufficient to lower blood sugar levels and keep hemoglobin A1c regulated. Hemoglobin A1c is used to test the glucose levels in diabetics.

In a similar study, but with 40 participants, the same amount of bitter melon was helpful in moderating blood sugar levels. More importantly, the researchers in this study found that the bitter melon extract decreased the amount of fructosamine. Lower fructosamine meant subjects exhibited better regulated blood sugar over a longer period of time.

Boosts Heart Health

An individual with high cholesterol will develop the buildup of plaque in their blood vessels, which can interfere with the functioning of the heart. Since slower blood flow forces the heart to work harder, the risk of heart failure is increased.

In a study on bitter melon extract, researchers found that the fruit helped reduce cholesterol levels in mice. As a result, heart health was improved, and the risk of heart failure was reduced. In a related study, researchers noted that the amount of bitter melon administered correlated to the amount of cholesterol in the blood, meaning greater amounts of bitter melon reduced cholesterol levels by that much more.

Helps Weight Loss

Finally, bitter melon can help you maintain a healthy weight in two ways. As previously mentioned, it’s a low-calorie food, so you can eat more of it without ingesting a high amount of calories. Additionally, each one-cup serving contains two grams of fiber. Since the digestive system takes longer to process fiber, foods that are high in fiber help us to manager hunger and appetite. This ensures you’ll eat less, so your body will burn more stored fat throughout the day.

There’s also research that suggests bitter melon is effective in helping the body burn more belly fat. Subjects in one study were given a daily dose of 4.8 grams of bitter melon extract. They lost about 0.5 inches, or 1.3 cm, of their stomach circumference over a seven week trial period.

Even as research continues to discover the benefits that bitter melon provides, it’s already clear that this fruit is beneficial to human health. Taking a supplement that contains bitter melon can help you stay healthier, and may protect cellular health and heart health, help you to maintain a healthy weight, and help maintain healthy blood sugar levels. While it shouldn’t be viewed as a cure in itself, it can help you better control your health by possibly reducing risks to your overall health.

Is Resveratrol Responsible for the Health Benefits of Red Wine?

Apr 30 by Ewcopywriting

While there are many proven health benefits of red wine, the majority can be attributed to one specific compound found in the grapes used to make the wine. This plant constituent is called resveratrol, and it’s the compound that helps give color to the skin of red grapes. It also helps protect grapes from fungal infections, droughts, extreme sun exposure and other environmental threats. While the resveratrol in red grapes helps the plant thrive in adverse environmental conditions, the protections it provides are not restricted to plant life.

Resveratrol: A Potent Antioxidant

Aside from the protective role it plays in grape plants, resveratrol contains antioxidants that are also extremely beneficial to human health. The high content of resveratrol in red wine delivers powerful antioxidants into the blood supply, which help to protect against free radicals in the body.

Free radicals are molecules that oxidize the cells throughout the body, making them more susceptible to damage and infection. The number of free radicals rises during times of stress and when an individual suffers from chronic inflammation, causing an increase in the risks of developing obesity, metabolic syndrome, cancer and other disorders. However, the antioxidants that resveratrol provides help to destabilize free radicals and eliminate their ability to negatively affect other molecules throughout the body.

Antioxidants protect us from free radicals in other ways as well. By allowing free radicals to oxidize the antioxidants themselves, the free radicals are discouraged from going after the healthy cells in the body. This reduces the overall number of free radicals circulating in the body, helping to decrease the risk of certain illnesses.

Resveratrol is one of the best compounds from which to derive antioxidant support because the body is able to absorb it with little difficulty. This plant constituent is also very active, which means its antioxidant power is readily available for use. So, in addition to being beneficial once introduced into the body, resveratrol makes it easier for the body to absorb antioxidants. This process allows resveratrol to promote several specific health benefits, such as those listed below.

What Are the Health Benefits of Red Wine?

Heart Health

There have been several studies over the years that have established a link between drinking red wine in moderation and exhibiting better heart health. In particular, a study conducted last year found that drinking red wine could reduce the risks of developing coronary heart disease, which is a condition that’s responsible for the most U.S. deaths. To achieve these benefits without experiencing the negative effects that alcohol can bring, men should limit themselves to two glasses of red wine per day, while women should only drink one glass daily.

Gut Health

The gut microbiome is a community of trillions of microorganisms that help the body function. This community relies on the introduction of a diverse selection of bacteria, derived from natural sources. The resveratrol and other compounds found in red wine act as prebiotics, which the gut uses to promote a more varied array of helpful bacteria. While research concerning the effects of red wine on the gut microbiome continue, current findings suggest the prebiotics red wine provides are helpful in maintaining a healthy gut.

Type 2 Diabetes

While drinking other types of alcoholic beverages may actually pose a greater risk to those suffering from type 2 diabetes, drinking red wine may be helpful. In a 2015 study, subjects who drank red wine exhibited lower blood sugar levels, which researchers attributed to the ethanol in the wine. They believe the ethanol and the natural compounds in the red grapes used to make the wine worked together to improve the metabolism of the subjects.

Hypertension

One of the more commonly known benefits of red wine is that drinking it in moderation can help to lower blood pressure. It does this by increasing the level of HDL, or good cholesterol, in the blood supply. Resveratrol contains compounds called procyanidins, which act to improve the health of blood vessels throughout the body. In addition to raising HDL levels, this helps ensure healthy blood flow throughout the blood vessels.

Post-Stroke Brain Damage

Drinking red wine after suffering a stroke can help protect against secondary brain damage. This is largely due to the fact that that the antioxidants in resveratrol help to modulate inflammation and oxidative stress, which would otherwise promote more cell death in the brain.

Vision Loss

As we get older, we become more susceptible to conditions that can affect our ability to see well. Partial or complete vision loss can result from glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts or macular degeneration. Since the antioxidants in red wine help to protect against oxidative stress, the inflammation that increases the risks of developing these conditions is also reduced. While it’s necessary to take other steps to protect your vision, moderate red wine consumption can also help.

Cancer

While excessive alcohol consumption can cause a broad range of health problems, including raising the risks of certain types of cancer, the moderate consumption of red wine can be beneficial. Observational studies have found that women who moderately consume red wine on a regular basis are less likely to develop breast cancer. Researchers believe this is because the wine reduces estrogen levels, while increasing testosterone in older women. While research is ongoing, the occasional glass of red wine may help protect against more types of cancer.