Food-aceuticals: Drink - and Eat - to Your Health

From my research into the wine that have been used for the healing of illness in the "I-Medicine Sutra". Wine especially Rice Wine have been used as the agent to mix with herbs. But it have to be kept for atleast 1-3months dependant on the weather conditions, room temperature & humilities...

As the appended news explain Red Wine & Grape Juice helps to blunt the artery-clogging. because of the antioxidant rich compounds in seeds & skins of grapes.

However, I would like to advise that when drinking red wine or grape juice , kindly drink DRY or low sugar content for your great health.

Flavonoids: What Makes Chocolate and Wine Good for You

The discovery of flavonoids and the bevy of heart-healthy benefits they possess has been a boon to wine and chocolate lovers.

The antioxidant-rich compounds found in the seeds and skins of plants, such as grapes, cocoa beans, and citrus fruits, first gained the attention of researchers in the early 1990s as a means of explaining the so-called French Paradox. Researchers proposed then that French people had lower rates of heart attacks because they drank moderate amounts of red wine with their meals.

Since then, more than 300 studies on grape flavonoids have shown that drinking red wine or grape juice may help blunt the artery-clogging effects of a fatty meal and reduce the risk of heart disease over the long-run.

Many of the same flavonoids in grape products are also found in varying concentrations in green and black tea as well as chocolate, but the bulk of research so far has been focused on grape flavonoids.

"It is exciting that different investigators dealing with grape products, whether it be red wine, de-alcoholized red wine, grape juice, or grape seed and skin extracts, they are all seeing some significant, potentially beneficial things," says John D. Folts, PhD, professor of medicine and nutritional science at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

Folts says animals with high cholesterol will develop atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries in about six to nine months, a process in humans that takes 20 to 30 years. But several recent studies have shown that when these animals are given grape products, the artery-clogging process slows down.

"The suggestion is that the same thing would work in humans," says Folts. He says the early studies on tea and chocolate flavonoids are promising, but it's still too early to draw any definitive conclusions from them.

Researchers say flavonoids may help promote heart health in several ways, such as:

* Helping to prevent blood clots, which may trigger a heart attack or stroke.
* Preventing cholesterol from entering and damaging blood vessel walls.
* Improving the health of arteries, making them expand and contract more readily, helping them carry blood more effectively.
* Stimulating the production of nitric oxide, which may stall hardening of the arteries.


The "Good" Fat (Fatty Acids)

Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, professor of nutritional science and policy at Tufts University, says although the research is reasonably good in showing that drinking a moderate amount of wine, defined as one or two glasses per day for men and no more than one glass per day for women, is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, it is also associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

"There is still some confusion over alcohol, and I think that's understandable because it has potentially good and bad effects," says Lichtenstein. "One should not start drinking if they don't already, and they have to really weigh the risks and benefits."

She says it's difficult to make a broad recommendation for drinking wine or other types of alcohol based on its potential health benefits because there are also some people who may be more likely to have substance abuse problems with alcohol.
Food-aceuticals: Drink - and Eat - to Your Health