Red wine & cholesterol?!
Red wine & cholesterol?
Hubby has high cholesterol but won't touch a glass of wine. I love it, but I am trying to find a red wine that he might drink, just several ounces a day, that isn't vinegary or anything, maybe something semi-sweet to medium bodied - anybody have any suggestions?
Answers:
Interesting (who wouldn't want to touch red wine) - recent studies have found that red wine could help in REDUCING cholesterol (that's reason enough for me). I once read that there was this plant compound called Saponin that comes from the skin of grapes. I like Syrah variety which was found in this study to have high levels of this Saponin stuff. Google "Red Wine and Cholesterol" and it should bring up a report on the study which also lists some of the wines found to be high in Saponin. Did I mention I like Syrah - should have said LOVE.
Source(s):
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...
I never thought i would like a dry wine till I had Chianti. Try that out.
Reunite Lambrusco is a red wine even sold at Sam's club or the local markets, all my friends like even if they don't care for red wine. it's semi-sweet.
So is Rose, by Livingston Cellars.
get wasted offf beer
I always urge caution to people who are interested in the health benefits of drinking red wine. I happen to love red wines, but I am not too optimistic that I'm getting a huge health benefit from them other than the benefits of sharing a fine wine with good company.
Here's why:
1) The amounts of the supposedly beneficial chemicals in wine, polyphenols and resveratrol among others, are actually really small. This is true even if you go to the big, tannic monster wines from Southern France made from the Tannat grape. In order to get the proportionate amount of these chemicals that were fed to mice in studies, a human being would have to drink wine all day long and would probably still not get enough!
2) Human studies touting the benefits of red wine often used only a small number of human subjects. The smaller the number of subjects, the harder it is to prove with statistical certainty that the health benefits are true.
3) If the study involved mice rather than humans, it's really hard to prove that the same benefits would apply to humans. This is a problem that faces the pharmaceutical industry. How often have we heard of a wonder drug that cures cancer in mice, but fails to work in humans?
4) People who have never had wine probably shouldn't start drinking it purely for medicinal purposes. Part of the benefit of red wine on health is the actual enjoyment of the wine and food experience, and sharing that experience with friends and family.
5) There are, of course, harmful effects of wine as well. I'm not convinced that these risks are entirely outweighed by the benefits. For example, some people with high cholesterol will also have a condition called fatty liver, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Alcohol will make this worse. If your husband has high cholesterol, the wine will likely not reduce it enough to bring down his risk of heart disease and stroke. Diet, exercise, and perhaps things like flax seed oil, omega fatty acids, fibre, and niacin should also be a part of the regimen. If the levels are significantly high and he also has other risks factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and family history of heart disease, then his doctor should be playing an active role as well.
Anyway, I don't think that you should be too agressive at introducing your husband to red wine just for the health benefits. On the other hand, if he comes to enjoy it in moderation and wants to explore it more in the context of an overall healthy lifestyle, then cheers to him.
Hope that helps.
Cheers!