Think Of Red Wine As Daily Medicine

A regular pattern of moderate drinking may actually be the key to reaping the health benefits of alcohol and red wine and grapes may be beneficial for your heart, reports the Huffington Post in "Drinking Benefits: How Alcohol May Affect Longevity And Heart Health" By Mary Kate Sheridan.

"The bottom line is that moderate volumes of alcohol do seem associated with fewer heart attacks and other cardiac illness -- but only if that volume is spread out evenly, with one or two drinks a day, rather than clumped together in sporadic binges, says Jurgen Rehm, lead author of the study just published in the journal Addiction."

That caveat -- that it is not just low average consumption that might help, but a regular, modest pattern of drinking -- is a major one, since less than 5% of North Americans are estimated to follow such consistent drinking patterns, noted Prof. Rehm in an interview."

"If you want to reap all those benefits, you have to drink it almost as a medicine," said the head of social and epidemiological research at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

 KNOW YOUR RED WINE MEDICINE CABINET CHEAT SHEET According to the DRs TV SHOW.

• Malbec: Has the lowest calories and sugar but the highest content of alcohol.
• Cabernet: Has the highest levels of polyphenols the heart healthy chemical flavenoids.
• Sirah (aka Shiraz) High in polyphenols for heart health but those from Australia and California have a higher alcohol content.
• Zinfandel: Has the highest calorie count and those from CA have a higher alcohol content.
• Pinot Noir: Highest level of resveratrol and milder than other red wines.
• Grape Juice: Has 'grapes' obviously but also a load of sugar.

Drinking Benefits: How Alcohol May Affect Longevity And Heart Health
Huffington Post: Mary Kate Sheridan.