The healing powers of vinegar

It's cheap and may not be glamorous, but the vinegar you put on your salad can protect against heart disease and cancer, and even help us age more slowly.

Vinegar not only tastes great on chips, dresses up a salad and makes glassware sparkle, but it is also a storehouse of important vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and enzymes and has a host of amazing healing powers.

New research means doctors and scientists are calling it one of the 'functional' foods - foods that are not only nutritious but help prevent and protect against disease.

Follow this guide for the type that's right for you.

Apple Cider

This vinegar, available in supermarkets and health food shops, is the most potent and health-giving of all vinegars.

It contains the same important nutrients as apples - including pectin, beta-carotene and potassium - plus enzymes and amino acids formed during the fermentation process.

Its high potassium content encourages cell, tissue and organism growth, and the enzymes help boost chemical reactions in the body.

It also contains calcium, which maintains healthy bones, helps transmit nerve impulses and regulates muscle contraction, and iron, essential for healthy blood. Magnesium is another component, with many beneficial effects on the body, especially the heart.

Low potassium levels can make us feel permanently tired, and potassium-rich foods help prevent age-related illness.

It also enables the stomach to produce hydrochloric acid, which aids digestion. We lose acid as we age, but apple cider vinegar can help prevent common digestive disorders as we get older.

Red wine

Red wine vinegar has been used for centuries as a cure-all, and its benefits are now being confirmed by scientific research.

It has even been credited with helping the Roman army succeed.

Latin historian Spartianus apparently recorded that vinegar mixed with water was the drink that helped soldiers survive battle, as well as the various alien climates they encountered.

Medical experts agree that the healthier you are, the younger your body stays. Not only is red wine vinegar full of anti-ageing antioxidants, it is cholesterol free, sodium free, and fat free.

Without doubt it can help stave off age-related ailments such as heart disease and cancer.

Like wine itself, red wine vinegar is flavanoid-rich and can help lower your cholesterol levels, which again lessens the risk of heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure.

Vinegar acts as a substitute for salt, and a low fat, low sodium diet is important for a healthy heart as we get older.

Red wine vinegar adds flavour to low-fat, heart-healthy foods such as beans, vegetables, fruit, pasta and whole grain cereals.

Balsamic and herbs

In Italian 'balsamico' means balm and in previous centuries, balsamic vinegar was used as a gargle, tonic and air purifier against the plague.

Traditionally it was made from Trebbiano grapes allowed to ripen until they are supersweet on the hills around Modena, Italy.

High in antioxidants and potassium, it also makes a particularly tasty vinaigrette.

Its sweet, full flavour means it can even be used over vanilla ice cream.

Thyme vinegar

This vinegar contains iron, magnesium, silicon and thiamine and acts as an antiseptic and general healing tonic. It can subdue coughing and relieve intestinal ailments.

Oregano vinegar

This is both antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. It kills bacteria, viruses, fungi and other germs and fights cold and flu.

Sage vinegar

Recommended for the gum disease gingivitis and sore throats, due to its natural astringent and antiseptic properties.

Rosemary vinegar

This contains extra calcium, magnesium and potassium, all of which help balance fluids surrounding nerves and heart tissue. Rosemary may also help to lower blood pressure.

Ten more therapeutic uses

1. Heal burns: To minimise inflammation and swelling, apply apple cider vinegar straight out of the bottle to burns. It should also help alleviate smarting and soreness and prevent blisters.

2. Clear congestion: Inhale the vapour from a steaming pot of water containing several spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar.

3. Lose a headache: For a tension headache, dampen a cloth with herbal vinegar, put it on your forehead and lie down. For migraine, mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Lean your head over the pan and inhale for 75 breaths.

4. Soothe a sore throat: Gargle with a 50-50 solution of warm water and vinegar.

5. Relieve sunburn: Apply cold vinegar compresses to sunburned skin to relieve discomfort and prevent blisters. antiseptic properties. (Pregnant women should avoid it.)

6. Stop hiccups: Sip a glass of warm water mixed with a teaspoon of vinegar.

7. Swat insect stings: Make a paste from vinegar and cornstarch and apply directly to insect bites or bee stings, but not wasp stings.

8. Alleviate athlete's foot: Rinse feet several times a day with plain, herbal or apple cider vinegar. The acid content of the vinegar helps stop fungus growth and relieves itching.

9. Fight off night sweats: For menopausal night sweats, or sweats caused by flu, try sponging yourself down with apple cider vinegar before going to bed.

10. Avoid morning sickness: Drinking a glass of water containing a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, first thing in the morning, should alleviate early pregnancy nausea, and is safe for the baby.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-37317/The-healing-powers-vinegar.html

The Health Benefits of Mushroom Consumption

Mushrooms contain some of the most potent natural medicines on the planet. Of the 140,000 species of mushroom-forming fungi, science is familiar with only 10 percent, according to world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets, who has written six books on the topic.

About 100 species of mushrooms are being studied for their health-promoting benefits. Of those hundred, about a half dozen really stand out for their ability to deliver a tremendous boost to your immune system.

It's important to eat only organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants, so healthy growing conditions is a critical factor.

While it may sound strange, we're actually more closely related to fungi than we are to any other kingdom, as we share the same pathogens, meaning bacteria and viruses.

As a defense against bacterial invasion, fungi have developed strong antibiotics, which also happen to be effective for us humans. Penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline all come from fungal extracts.

The Many Health Benefits of Mushrooms

The FASEB Journal recently published nine studies on mushrooms that were also presented at Experimental Biology 2013, which detailed a wide variety of health benefits, including:

• Weight management: One study found that substituting red meat with white button mushrooms can help enhance weight loss. Obese participants with a mean age of just over 48 years ate approximately one cup of mushrooms per day in place of meat. The control group ate a standard diet without mushrooms.
At the end of the 12-month trial, the intervention group had lost an average of 3.6 percent of their starting weight, or about seven pounds. They also showed improvements in body composition, such as reduced waist circumference, and ability to maintain their weight loss, compared to the control group.
• Improved nutrition: One dietary analysis found that mushroom consumption was associated with better diet quality and improved nutrition.
• Increasing vitamin D levels through your diet: Consuming dried white button mushroom extract was found to be as effective as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or D3 for increasing Vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D).
• Improved immune system function: Long chain polysaccharides, particularly alpha and beta glucan molecules, are primarily responsible for the mushrooms' beneficial effect on your immune system. In one study, adding one or two servings of dried shiitake mushrooms was found to have a beneficial, modulating effect on immune system function. Another study done on mice found that white button mushrooms enhanced the adaptive immunity response to salmonella.

Parasitic Fungi Showing Promise for Immune Disorders and Cancer

Cordyceps, also called caterpillar fungus or Tochukasu, is a favorite of athletes because it increases ATP production, strength and endurance, and has anti-aging effects. 

This parasitic mushroom is unique because, in the wild, it grows out of an insect host instead of a plant host. It has long been used within both traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine.

It has hypoglycemic and possible antidepressant effects, protects your liver and kidneys, increases blood flow, helps normalize your cholesterol levels, and has been used to treat Hepatitis B.

Cordyceps has antitumor properties as well. Scientists at The University of Nottingham have been studying cordycepin, one of the active medicinal compounds found in these fungi, and the one identified as a potential cancer drug. More recent studies suggest it also has potent anti-inflammatory characteristics that may be helpful for those suffering from:

• Asthma
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Renal failure
• Stroke damage

A question that was begging for an answer was how cordycepin could produce so many different beneficial effects at the cellular level. Researcher Dr. Cornelia de Moor told Medical News Today:

"We have shown that cordycepin reduces the expression of inflammatory genes in airway smooth muscle cells by acting on the final step in the synthesis of their messenger RNAs (mRNAs) which carry the chemical blueprint for the synthesis of proteins. 

This process is called polyadenylation. Commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs either work much earlier in the activation of inflammatory genes, such as prednisone, or work on one of the final products of the inflammatory reaction (e.g. ibuprofen).

These findings indicate that cordycepin acts by a completely different mechanism than currently used anti-inflammatory drugs, making it a potential drug for patients in which these drugs don't work well. 

However, it is a surprise that cordycepin does not affect the synthesis of mRNAs from other genes, because nearly all mRNAs require polyadenylation."

According to Dr. de Moor's research, the mechanism responsible for cordycepin’s many varied effects may stem from its ability to alter the synthesis of many classes of rapidly induced genes that help counteract inflammatory genes, thereby slowing down otherwise rapid cellular responses to tissue damage. It may also help prevent over-activation of inflammatory responses.

“However, it also indicates that cordycepin could have adverse effects on normal wound healing and on the natural defenses against infectious diseases,” the featured article states.

“Dr. de Moor said: 'We are hoping to further investigate which genes are more dependent on polyadenylation than others and why this is the case, as well as test the effect of cordycepin on animal models of disease. Clinical testing of cordycepin is not in our immediate plans, as we think we first have to understand this drug in more detail before we can risk treating patients with it.'"

Foragers, Beware of Toxic Mushrooms

An November 2012 article in The Atlantic highlighted recent cases of lethal food poisonings related to eating wild mushrooms, and the need for caution when foraging food:

“Of the over 10,000 species of mushrooms, only about 50 to 100 are toxic. About 6,000 Americans each year end up eating them. Over half of those cases involve unsupervised small children. So if you're considering treating that special person in your life to a wild mushroom-based dish, take the following into consideration: Over 90 percent of deaths, including these most recent ones, are caused by amatoxins.”

As mentioned in the article, the North American Mycological Association offers critical information on a number of toxic mushrooms and the symptoms they cause, including those for amanitin (amatoxins), which is one of the most serious:

• Stage 1: A latency period of 6 to 24 hours after ingestion, in which the toxins are actively destroying the victim's kidneys and liver, but the victim experiences no discomfort.
• Stage 2: A period of about 24 hours characterized by violent vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and severe abdominal cramps.
• Stage 3: A period of 24 hours during which the victim appears to recover (if hospitalized, the patient is sometimes released)
• Stage 4: Relapse, during which kidney and liver failure often occurs, leading to death. Patients may also "bleed out" and die due to the destruction of clotting factors in the blood. There may be more than one relapse.

Warning: If you have any reason to suspect that someone has ingested an amanitin-containing mushroom, DON’T WAIT for symptoms to appear! There is no antidote for amanitin poisoning, and the best hope is to rush the person to the hospital where the toxins can be removed before being fully absorbed into the body.

It's also important to eat ONLY organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency, for better or worse. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants. One way to know what you’re getting is to grow your own. You can find a variety of DIY garden kits available online, which will eliminate any questions about what kind of mushroom you’re picking.

Improving Your Nutrition with Mushrooms

Two years ago, I interviewed Steve Farrar, who worked and studied mushrooms professionally for the last 30 years. The first 20 years he spent growing them and working primarily with gourmet chefs, but in the past decade, he's started applying his expertise of mushrooms to health purposes. According to Farrar, Americans consume about 900 million pounds of mushrooms a year, but 95 percent of that is just one species: the common button mushroom and its relatives, the Crimini and the Portabello mushrooms.

Granted, the button mushroom is an excellent low-calorie food, especially for diabetics. It contains a number of valuable nutrients, including protein, enzymes, B vitamins (especially niacin), and vitamin D2. However, there are many other types of mushrooms worthy of consideration if you want to improve your diet. I’ll review a few of my favorites below. Farrar's focus has been on growing various gourmet mushroom species, particularly the wood decaying mushroom species, which differ greatly from your average button mushroom in terms of biology, nutrition and medicinal value.

Mushrooms are excellent sources of antioxidants in general as they contain polyphenols and selenium, which are common in the plant world. But they also contain antioxidants that are unique to mushrooms. One such antioxidant is ergothioneine, which scientists are now beginning to recognize as a 'master antioxidant.' Interestingly, it's an amino acid that contains sulfur, and if you listened to my interview with Dr. Seneff on the highly underestimated importance of sulfur, you may recognize why this particular antioxidant may be of particular importance for human health, as many are severely deficient in sulfur.

A previous study in the journal Nature discusses the importance of ergothioneine, which is fairly exclusive to mushrooms, describing it as "an unusual sulfur-containing derivative of the amino acid, histidine," which appears to have a very specific role in protecting your DNA from oxidative damage. With that in mind, it becomes easy to see how mushrooms may be an important part of an optimal diet. If you don't like to eat them whole, you can also find them in supplement form, either as an extract or whole food supplement.

Examples of Mushrooms to Add to Your Diet

A few of my favorite health-enhancing mushroom species include:

• Shiitake (Lentinula edodes): Shiitake is a popular culinary mushroom used in dishes around the world. It contains a number of health-stimulating agents, including lentinan, the polysaccharide for which it was named. Lentinan has been isolated and used to treat stomach and other cancers due to its antitumor properties, but has also been found to protect your liver, relieve other stomach ailments (hyperacidity, gallstones, ulcers), anemia, ascites, and pleural effusion.
One of the more remarkable scientific studies demonstrating shiitake's antitumor effect was a Japanese animal study,where mice suffering from sarcoma were given shiitake extract. Six of 10 mice had complete tumor regression, and with slightly higher concentrations, all ten mice showed complete tumor regression.
Shiitake mushrooms also demonstrate antiviral (including HIV, hepatitis, and the "common cold"), antibacterial, and antifungal effects; blood sugar stabilization; reduced platelet aggregation; and reduced atherosclerosis. Shiitake also contains eritadenine, which has strong cholesterol-lowering properties.
• Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): Reishi is known as Lingzhi in China, or "spirit plant." It's also been called "Mushroom of Immortality" — a nickname that kind of says it all. Reishi has been used medicinally in Asia for thousands of years. One of its more useful compounds is ganoderic acid (a triterpenoid), which is being used to treat lung cancer, leukemia and other cancers. The list of Reishi's health benefits includes the following
• Antibacterial, antiviral (Herpes, Epstein-Barr), antifungal (including Candida) properties
• Anti-inflammatory, useful for reducing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
• Immune system up-regulation
• Normalization of blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure
• Reduction of prostate-related urinary symptoms in men
• Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor): Turkey Tail is also known as Coriolis, or "cloud mushroom." Two polysaccharide complexes in Turkey Tail are getting a great deal of scientific attention, PSK (or "Kreskin") and PSP, making it the most extensively researched of all medicinal mushrooms with large scale clinical trials.
A seven-year, $2 million NIH-funded clinical study in 2011 found that Turkey Tail mycelium improves immune function when dosed daily to women with stage I–III breast cancer. Immune response was dose-dependent, with no adverse effects. PSP has been shown to significantly enhance immune status in 70 to 97 percent of cancer patients. Turkey tail is also being used to treat many different infections, including aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, E. coli, HIV, Herpes, and streptococcus pneumonia, and is hepatoprotective. It may also be useful for chronic fatigue.
• Himematsutake (Agaricus blazei): Himematsutake, also called Royal Sun Agaricus, is a relative of the common button mushroom. Himematsutake was not cultivated in the East until fairly recently but is now a very popular natural medicine, used by almost a half million Japanese.
Himematsutake mushroom is attracting many scientists worldwide due to its remarkable anticancer properties related to six special polysaccharides. Like many other medicinal mushrooms, this fungus can also protect you from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy. But its benefits don't stop there — Himematsutake may also help decrease insulin resistance in diabetics, normalize your cholesterol, improve your hair and skin, and even treat polio.

Usage and Dosage Recommendations for Mushroom Supplements

When it comes to mushroom supplements, there are two primary types:

• Mushroom concentrates or extracts — Most of these are so-called hot water extracts, where either the mushroom mycelia — the fruit body — is boiled for extended periods of time to extract the long chain polysaccharides. The end product is a concentrated form of glyconutrients (complex sugars) thought to be responsible for many of the health benefits of the mushroom.
• Whole food/raw mushrooms — Consuming the mushrooms raw or using a whole food mushroom (powdered pill) product is generally a better alternative if you're reasonably healthy and looking to maintain optimal health, as they help maintain ideal function of your various systems as opposed to imparting a direct effect. Most of the knowledge about mushrooms come from ancient Chinese medicine where mushrooms are regarded as tonics. Tonics are considered to have non-specific beneficial effects across several systems of your body that do not decline over time.

As mentioned earlier, if you choose to eat your mushrooms raw, make sure they are organically grown, as their flesh easily absorbs air and soil contaminants. Likewise, you'll want to make sure any product you buy is certified organic for the same reason. In addition to valuable nutrients, whole mushrooms also provide healthful dietary fiber that acts as prebiotic platforms for the growth of probiotic organisms in your gut, which is very important for digestive health. This is yet another reason to opt for a whole food mushroom product.

Adding Mushrooms Is a Simple Way to Boost Your Health Through Your Diet

With all the evidence supporting mushrooms as little powerhouses of potent nutrition, I highly recommend adding some to your diet. They’re an excellent addition to any salad and go great with all kinds of meat and fish. “Let food be thy medicine” is good advice indeed, and with mushrooms that is especially true, as they contain some of the most powerful natural medicines on the planet.

Just make sure they’re organically grown in order to avoid harmful contaminants that mushrooms absorb and concentrate from soil, air and water. Also, avoid picking mushrooms in the wild unless you are absolutely sure you know what you’re picking. There are a number of toxic mushrooms, and it’s easy to get them confused unless you have a lot of experience and know what to look for. Growing your own is an excellent option and a far safer alternative to picking wild mushrooms.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/13/mushroom-benefits.aspx

What are the benefits of wine?

Wine, especially the red variety, has been studied extensively over many years with impressive findings suggesting it may promote a longer lifespan, protect against certain cancers, improve mental health, and provide benefits to the heart.

This Medical News Today article focuses on the health benefits of drinking wine. It includes a brief history of wine, as well as explaining what moderate wine consumption is. At the end of the article there is some information on resveratrol, a compound found in wine and some plants.

Most of the content and quotes in this article refer to red wine, however one study published by the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry concluded for the first time that white wine may provide the same cardio-protective qualities as red wine.

More studies on white wine are needed to confirm these results.

However, as many more studies have focused on red wine, most of the content and quotes in this article refer to red wine.

A brief history of wine

According to Cornell University, archeologists date grape cultivation and wine making to sometime between 6,000 and 4,000 BC in Mesopotamia and the coastal areas of the Caspian Sea. At that time only aristocrats, royalty, and members of clergy enjoyed wine while peasants and commoners drank ale, mead and beer.

Jancis Robertson, in "The Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition", wrote that ancient Egyptian Papyri and Sumerian tablets dating back to 2200 BC are the oldest documents that mention wine as a man-made medicine. In ancient Egypt, wine was also savored mainly by royalty and the upper classes.

When wine making arrived in ancient Greece, it was enjoyed by the whole spectrum of society, and became a popular theme in literature, religion, leisure, medicine and mythology.

Hippocrates said wine had many medicinal qualities

Hippocrates, often referred to as the "father of western medicine", promoted wine as part of a healthy diet. He also claimed that wine was good for disinfecting wounds, as well as a liquid in which medications could be mixed and taken more easily by patients. Hippocrates said wine should be used to alleviate pain during childbirth, for symptoms of diarrhea, and even lethargy.

The ancient Romans took vine clippings from Greece back to Rome. From there centers of viticulture soon appeared all over southern Europe, then in Germany and the rest of the continent.

In the Bible, in his first epistle to Timothy, Paul the Apostle recommended a little wine every now and then to help digestion.

Persian Avicenna in the 11th century AD acknowledged that wine helped digestion, but only recommended it as a disinfectant while dressing wounds because Islamic laws prohibited the consumption of alcohol.

During the Middle Ages, Catholic monks frequently used wine for a wide range of medical treatments.

Wine was so linked to medical practice that in the first printed book on wine, Arnaldus de Villa Nova (circa. 1235-1311 AD), a physician, wrote at length on wine's benefits for the treatment of many illnesses and conditions, including sinus problems and dementia.

One of the reasons wine was so popular throughout history is because safe drinking water was often scarce. During the 1892 cholera epidemic in Hamburg, Germany, wine was used to sterilize water.

The 1800s and early twentieth century saw a rapid spread of the Temperance movement, admonishing the use of alcoholic beverages and advising reduced consumption. Medical establishments began recognizing alcoholism as a disease.

The harms of alcohol have also been well documented throughout history. In Islam, the Qur'an (Koran) forbade the consumption of alcohol through several separate verses revealed at different times. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813), a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence, said "My observations authorize me to say, that persons who have been addicted to them (spirits), should abstain from them suddenly and entirely. 'Taste not, handle not, touch not' should be inscribed upon every vessel that contains spirits in the house of a man, who wishes to be cured of habits of intemperance".

What is moderate wine consumption?

"Moderate" wine consumption is said to be good for the health. But what is "moderate" wine consumption? How much wine you can drink in one sitting before the health benefits turn into dangers depends on many factors, including the person's size, age, sex, body stature and general state of health, as well as whether it is being consumed with food or on an empty stomach.

Women absorb alcohol more rapidly than men because of their lower body water content and different levels of stomach enzymes. Therefore, moderate wine consumption will be a lower amount for women than for men.

A medium glass of wine is equivalent to

about 2 units of alcohol

According to "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010", published by the US Department of Agriculture, "If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation - up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men".

The National Health Service, UK, writes "Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day. Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day." One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. A 250ml (large) glass of 12% red wine has about 3 units of alcohol. A 175ml (medium) glass has about two units.

All the health benefits associated with drinking wine listed below are only applicable to moderate drinking!

What are the benefits of drinking wine?

Reducing risk of depression

A team from several universities in Spain reported in the journal BMC Medicine that drinking wine may reduce the risk of depression.

The researchers gathered data on 2,683 men and 2,822 women aged from 55 to 80 years over a seven-year period. The participants had to complete a food frequency questionnaire every year, which included details on their alcohol consumption as well as their mental health.

The authors found that men and women who drank two to seven glasses of wine per week were less likely to be diagnosed with depression.

Even after taking into account lifestyle factors which could influence their findings, the significantly lower risk of developing depression still stood.

Preventing colon cancer

Scientists from the University of Leicester, UK, reported at the 2nd International Scientific Conference on Resveratrol and Health that regular, moderate red wine consumption can reduce the rate of bowel tumors by approximately 50%.

Anti-aging

Monks believed wine slowed the aging process,

today scientists do too

Researchers from Harvard Medical School reported that red wine has anti-aging properties.

Specifically, resveratrol was the compound found to have the beneficial effect. The resveratrol in wine comes from the skins of red grapes. Blueberries, cranberries and nuts are also sources of resveratrol.

Head investigator, David Sinclair said "Resveratrol improves the health of mice on a high-fat diet and increases life span."

Their findings, which were published in the journal Cell Metabolismoffer, was the first compelling proof of the definite link between the anti-aging properties of resveratrol and the SIRT1 gene.

Wine's anti-aging properties have been talked about for over one thousand years. Monasteries throughout Europe were convinced that their monks' longer lifespans, compared to the rest of the population, was partly due to their moderate, regular consumption of wine.

A study carried out at the University of London found that procyanidis, compounds commonly found in red wine, keep the blood vessels healthy and are one of the factors that contribute towards longer life spans enjoyed by the people in Sardinia and the southwest of France. The researchers also found that red wine made in the traditional way has much higher levels of procyanidins than other wines.

Preventing breast cancer

Regular consumption of most alcoholic drinks increases the risk of breast cancer. However, red wine intake has the opposite effect, researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found.

In the Journal of Women's Health, the scientists explained that chemicals in the skins and seeds of red grapes reduce estrogen levels while raising testosterone in premenopausal women - which results in a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

The authors emphasized that it is not just the red wine that has the beneficial compounds, but its raw material - red grape. They suggested that when women are choosing an alcoholic drink to consume, they should consider red wine. They reiterated that they were not encouraging wine over grapes.

The study surprised many researchers. Most studies point to a higher risk of breast cancer from consuming alcoholic drinks, because alcohol raises a woman's estrogen levels, which in turn encourage the growth of cancer cells.

Study co-author, Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt, MD, said: "If you were to have a glass of wine with dinner, you may want to consider a glass of red. Switching may shift your risk."

Preventing dementia

A team from Loyola University Medical Center center found that moderate red wine intake can reduce the risk of developing dementia.

In this study, the researchers gathered and analyzed data from academic papers on red wine since 1977. The studies, which spanned 19 nations, showed a statistically significantly lower risk of dementia among regular, moderate red wine drinkers in 14 countries.

The investigators explained that resveratrol reduces the stickiness of blood platelets, which helps keep the blood vessels open and flexible. This helps maintain a good blood supply to the brain.

Both white and red wines contain resveratrol, but red wine has much more. The skin of red grapes has very high levels of resveratrol. During the manufacturing process of red wine there is prolonged contact with grape skins.

Lead investigator, Professor Edward J. Neafsey, said "We don't recommend that nondrinkers start drinking. But moderate drinking, if it is truly moderate, can be beneficial."

Neafsey and colleagues wrote in The Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment that moderate red wine drinkers had a 23% lower risk of developing dementia compared to people who rarely or never consumed the alcoholic beverage.

Protecting from severe sunburn

Wine and grape derivatives can help reduce the damaging effects of UV (ultraviolet) light, scientists from the University of Barcelona in Spain reported in The Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry.

The authors explained that when UV rays make contact with human skin, they activate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which oxidize fats, DNA and other large molecules, which in turn stimulate other enzymes that harm skin cells. Flavonoids, found in red wine and grapes, inhibit the formation of the ROS in skin cells that are exposed to sunlight.

Preventing blinding diseases

Red wine can stop the out-of-control blood vessel growth in the eye that causes blindness, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reported in the American Journal of Pathology.

Diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness among Americans aged 50+ years, are caused by an overgrowth of blood vessels (angiogenesis) in the eye.

The researchers explained that resveratrol is the compound in wine that protects vision. Grapes, blueberries, peanuts and some other plants are rich in resveratrol.

Damage after stroke

Red wine may protect the brain from stroke damage, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine wrote in the journal Experimental Neurology.

Professor Sylvain Doré believes that resveratrol in red wine raises levels of heme oxygenase, an enzyme known to protect nerve cells in the brain from damage. When somebody suffers a stroke, the brain is ready to protect itself because of higher enzyme levels.

Doré added that nobody yet knows whether it is just the resveratrol that has the health benefits, or it is the alcohol in the wine which may be needed to concentrate the levels of the compound.

Improving lung function and preventing lung cancer

Dutch scientists reported on a study that looked at the effects of resveratrol, red wine, and white wine on lung function.

They found that:

• Pure resveratrol was good for lung function
• White wine eas also good for lung function.
• Red wine made no difference

A reviewer of the study wrote "Resveratrol may well be just the bystander of something else present in wine. The beneficial effects on lung function are probably related to many compounds present in wine, and not just resveratrol."

According to a number of scientific studies, moderate wine drinkers appear to enjoy better lung function, the authors added.

In another study, a team from Kaiser Permanente wrote in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention that red wine consumption may reduce lung cancer risk.. Chun Chao, Ph.D., said "An antioxidant component in red wine may be protective of lung cancer,, particularly among smokers."

Raising levels of omega-3 fatty acids

Wine is better that other alcohol drinks in raising levels of omega-3 fatty acids in plasma and red blood cells, according to the IMMIDIET study involving European researchers from various countries.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined 1,604 adults from London in England, Abruzzo in Italy, and Limburg in Belgium. They all underwent a comprehensive medical examination with a primary care physician (general practitioner) and also completed an annual food frequency questionnaire which included details of their dietary and drinking habits.

They found that regular, moderate wine drinkers had higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are usually derived from eating fish. We know that omega-3 fatty acids protect against coronary heart disease..

The scientists found that drinking wine acts like a trigger, boosting levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the body.

Preventing liver disease

A study carried out at the UC San Diego School of Medicine concluded that modest wine consumption reduced the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by half compared to people who never drank wine. Their finding challenged conventional thinking regarding alcohol consumption and liver health.

The researchers reported in the journal Hepatology that regular, modest beer or liquor drinkers had more than four times the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared to the wine drinkers.

Protecting from prostate Cancer

A study published in the June 2007 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch reported that male moderate red wine drinkers were 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as men who never drank red wine.

They defined moderate drinking as an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week.

Initially, the Seattle researchers looked at general alcohol consumption and found no link to prostate cancer risk. However, when they went one step further and looked at different alcoholic beverages, they identified a clear association between red wine drinking and lower prostate cancer risk.

Even extremely moderate red wine consumption (one glass per week) reduced men's risk of prostate cancer by 6%, the authors informed.

Preventing type 2 diabetes

In an animal experiment, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered that a chemical found in red wine and the skin of red grapes - resveratrol - improved sensitivity to insulin. Insulin resistance is the most important critical factor contributing to type 2 diabetes risk.

The researchers reported in the journal Cell Metabolism that resveratrol also increased levels of the enzyme SIRT1, which was found to improve insulin sensitivity in mice.

Study leader, Qiwei Zhai said that red wine may have some benefits for insulin sensitivity, but this needs to be confirmed in further studies.

What is resveratrol?

Resveratrol is a compound found in some plants. Plants produce resveratrol to fight off bacteria and fungi. Resveratrol also protects plants from ultraviolet irradiation.

Red wine contains more resveratrol than white wine because it is fermented with the skins (white wine is not). Most of the resveratrol in grapes is in the seeds and skin.

The following plants and drinks are rich in resveratrol

• Red wine
• Grapes
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Bilberries
• Peanuts

The health benefits linked to moderate wine consumption are mostly due to the beverage's resveratrol content.

While wine consumption appears to be good for the health, drinking too much can lead to depression, mental health problems, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, stroke, hypertension, fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, several cancers, pancreatitis, and many other chronic diseases.

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