InSpiral Coaching: Cooking with Wine Recipe Round-up

Let's talk Wine!

The benefits of red wine have been bandied around for a long time now and I for one, love it! But of course like many things, we should consume any type of alcohol in moderation. So here's an idea; put it in your food! A perfect way to get a healthy dose of red wine without feeling like you're hitting the bottle every night. Here are four reasons why sensible quantities can be good for us...

Red Wine is Good for Your Heart - Red wine contains resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant compound. Resveratrol also protects your heart and arteries against the effects of saturated fat in your diet, so drinking one or two glasses of red wine a day can help protect your heart and prevent cardiovascular disease. The flavonoids and sapponins in red wine also help to protect your heart against cardiovascular disease. The alcohol in red wine, when consumed in moderation, raises your levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, helps prevent the formation of blood clots and can help to protect your arteries from the damage caused by "bad" LDL cholesterol.
Red Wine Contains Antioxidants - In addition to resveratrol, red wine contains a number of other antioxidants, which can slow the signs of aging and prevent a number of degenerative illnesses like type 2 diabetes. Drinking one or two glasses of red wine each day can help protect you from many of the diseases of the elderly, such as osteoporosis.
Red Wine Prevents Cancer - Mounting evidence suggests that drinking red wine in moderation can help prevent cancer. The many antioxidants in red wine can help prevent the oxidative damage responsible for the process of aging and for many degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Guercetin, one of the many antioxidants in red wine, may help prevent lung cancer. Research has shown that resveratrol, the same red wine antioxidant that helps protect your heart, can also kill cancerous cells. Scientists have found that resveratrol, when used in conjunction with radiation therapy, can penetrate cancerous cells and induce apoptosis. Apoptosis is a type of cell death that occurs when the cell dies, dissolves and is removed by the white cells of your immune system. Cancer researchers have been looking for a way to induce apoptosis in cancerous cells, because it's the safest way to remove unwanted cells from the body. Resveratrol also inhibits cancerous cells' ability to remove irradiated particles, making radiation therapy more effective against cancer. Resveratrol also attacks cancerous cells and inhibits their ability to function.
Red Wine Prevents Tooth Decay - Red wine, even non alcoholic red wine, hardens your enamel to prevent tooth decay. Hardened enamel is more resistant to Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria which lives on your teeth and is responsible for tooth decay. The polyphenols in red wine can also prevent gum disease, and even help to treat it by reducing inflammation in the gums.

And just to make life even easier; here are some awesome healthy recipes that include our favourite elixir...