Red Wine and Coffee: Miracle Foods or Empty Buzz?

If you’re like most people you probably have a vice or two that you'd prefer didn't exist, like compulsive shoe shopping or a penchant for Cherry Garcia right before bed.

Wouldn’t it be great if the "bad" things you did on a regular basis turned out to actually be good for you?

In that vein, recent research suggests that two popular "bad" drinks, wine and coffee, may provide some surprising long-term health benefits.

Of course, outlandish claims regarding the health benefits of unhealthy foods and activities have been made before.

Don't believe the buzz just yet: read on before you start tipping a glass or a cup to learn the specific health benefits of wine and coffee, as supported by real scientific research.

Red Wine

You've probably heard claims about the heart-health benefits of red wine. Don't even bother with the white stuff:

Unfortunately, the delicious chardonnay that pairs so well with your fish entree doesn't do much for your long-term well-being–unless you happen to make some new friends over a bottle of it.

Red wine's supposed benefits are outlined below.

Flavonoids. These antioxidant compounds reduce bad LDL cholesterol while improving good HDL cholesterol and preventing harmful blood clots, reducing your heart's workload.
Resveratrol. Another powerful antioxidant, resveratrol is a double whammy, promoting the growth of nerve cells while inhibiting tumor growth. Dry reds contain higher concentrations of this substance.

Coffee

Wouldn't it be nice if that Venti coffee delivered more than a few jittery hours of productivity? It just might.

Caffeine, the very active ingredient in coffee, has been shown to improve your memory, problem-solving abilities, and physical stamina.

It also appears to promote digestive system health and delay the onset of serious nervous-system diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Recommended Dosage

Even the most enthusiastic wine and coffee boosters stress that moderation is key for both drinks. If you're female, take no more than one four-ounce glass of wine and two eight-ounce cups of coffee per day.

Men can safely double those doses, but don't get overenthusiastic. In this case, more has not determined to be better.

Caveats

Now for the bad news. Some of the supposed health benefits of wine and coffee haven't been conclusively proven, and they may be available without indulging in these substances to the point of unfortunate side effects.

Resveratrol, for example, occurs naturally in the skin of red grapes, so it's possible to enjoy some of the health benefits of red wine without the risk of a hangover.

What's more, the studies that have proven resveratrol's ability to shrink tumors required the equivalent of 150 bottles of wine in a single dose. Don't try that at home.

If eating tasty grapes instead of drinking red wine for the rest of your life doesn't sound like an unmitigated disaster, drinking unfiltered coffee might just turn out to be one.

That's because the oils and contaminants in strong coffees that eschew the filtering process, like Turkish and Greek varieties, may actually increase your body's bad LDL cholesterol. Remember: When in doubt, filter it out.

In Closing

It's probably safe for you to break out a bottle of red wine to celebrate the news that it provides some real long-term health benefits, but don't drink it all at once.

Getting your daily coffee fix won't hurt either, but moderation is key there are well: Caffeine can cause jitters, blood-pressure spikes and other nasty side effects.

In the end, remember, drink to your health but do it with care.

Will Rawson is a budding wine connoisseur and freelance blogger, who writes about healthy living topics. Will's goal is to help you live a healthier life.

Comments

Highly Effective Indian Home remedies For Delayed Periods

Delayed periods or Irregular menstrual periods have become very common these days for a lot of women in their reproductive age and they suffer great agonies when their period does not come on time. A delay of 4-5 days may be fine but if it exceeds 8 days, then it's certainly a cause for concern. In this post, I'll be sharing highly effective Indian home remedies for your delayed periods . I'd been a long sufferer of irregular periods during my teenage to early twenties. I've tried most of the recipes here, along with Kapalabhati pranayama, yoga poses, mudras and other lifestyle habits. Now my periods are extremely regular like clockwork; not a day less or more than 28. When I look back, I'm surprised how I managed those years of anxiety and fear about my late periods.

Pore shrinking mask recipes from home

A face with large open pores when seen from close quarters doesn’t look so good. While it’s quite common for oily skins to have a tendency towards open pores, an attack of pimples also leaves ugly scars and open pores behind. Even though the scars may fade away after some time, open pores appear to be more obstinate and hardly show any signs of shrinking. Age also takes its toll by giving an uneven/pigmented tone to the skin and making the open pores more prominent. Heredity could also be a contributing factor in determining your pore size. It’s not easy to get rid of these pores or shrink them completely or permanently using serums, lotions or face packs. Even resorting to drastic chemical/surgical procedures at the dermatologist’s isn’t quite capable of giving satisfactory results. Nevertheless, you can try and minimize their appearance at least temporarily with clever makeup and a few natural skin care masks such as these: * Cleanse your face with a mild ...

Home remedies for sleeplessness

The day dawns beautifully for those who have had a night of good sleep. But the same day drags on for those who have spent a disturbing, sleepless night. Sleep is a biological necessity even as eating and drinking are. Sufficient sleep renders a person normally sociable, lively and high-spirited. It’s a nature’s way of rejuvenating the person for the next day. Realize all this, and make sleep a physiological habit. The consequences of long time sleep deprivation can be very grave. Lack of sleep takes its toll on the skin and hair. It causes acne-breakouts and makes one look aged and haggard beyond years. Experts opine that during sleep as our metabolic rate falls, blood goes to those areas which need the most repairing. This also steps up the production of collagen and keratin, which aid the regeneration of skin cells and help resist premature ageing. So for a younger looking and a problem free skin you need to have a good quality of sleep every night.

Aspirin for acne-prone skin

Aspirin has been around for a long time and its health benefits are wide and varied. Aspirin , or acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains , as an antipyretic to reduce fever , and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Aspirin's greatest benefit is reducing cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes. According to the American Heart Assoc. virtually all women are at risk of heart disease and doctors should more strongly consider prescribing a daily aspirin for their female patients. There is growing evidence to suggest regular aspirin use may reduce cancer and dementia as well. Investigators from the Women's Health Study have reported important new findings demonstrating that aspirin reduces the risk of a first stroke in women. When given to someone immediately after a heart attack, aspirin decreases death by 25%.

Kapalabhati Pranayam for wrinkle-free, radiant complexion

Did you know that Kapalabhati Pranayam / kriya can also be used to enhance your beauty and ward off skin aging? Done the right way, Kapalabhati Pranayam can be used as a beauty aid - it can give you a wrinkle-free, luminous forehead and radiant complexion. Kapalabhati For Beauty ‘Kapalabhati’ Pranayam breathing exercise is an excellent way of maintaining good health and fighting diseases. ‘Kapala’ means ‘skull’ (and ‘forehead’ also) and ‘bhati’ means ‘shining’. By doing kapalabhati, the ‘nadis’(nerves) of the brain get good exercise. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm. There will be a glow on the forehead. After the age of 25, the tell-tale signs of ageing start making their appearance in the form of fine lines on the forehead. A regular practice of Kapalabhati for 10-15 minutes everyday will give you a tight forehead sans wrinkles for many years to come. Avoid Botox, try Kapalabhati Why resort to Botox and other expensive chemical or surgica...