You enjoy the taste of wine and find it relaxing to sip on a glass at the end of a long day, but did you know the fruity beverage also offers a plethora of health benefits? Indeed, drinking wine in moderation has been linked to all sorts of benefits that can help you feel better both mentally and physically. Read on to find out how drinking wine – responsibly – can be advantageous. So go ahead and order the wine lover in your life a wine gift basket from Design It Yourself Gift Baskets.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances that are found in plant-based foods or drinks, such as the grapes in wine. Antioxidants are important because they work within the body to reduce the production of free radicals. This means that drinking wine, which is chock full of antioxidants, can help to prevent or stop cell damage caused by oxidants. Because of this process, antioxidants are believed to fight off the effects of aging in the body and can help to bolster immune systems.
Heart Health
Health enthusiasts are known to rave about the effects wine has on the heart. Having a moderate amount of red wine regularly helps to greatly reduce the drinker’s risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and heart attacks. Additionally, drinking wine is associated with controlling blood sugar levels and lowering cholesterol.
Memory
It’s been proven that responsible, moderate drinkers often live longer and maintain healthier brains than their non-drinking counterparts. Researchers believe that drinking wine in moderation throughout adulthood can reduce the risk of mental decline and memory loss. Although scientists aren’t precisely sure why our drinking elders retain better memory functioning, they believe it has something to do with wine’s anti-inflammatory elements and its abundance of antioxidants.
Weight Maintenance
Having wine may help you stay slimmer throughout your life. Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial in fighting off diseases and ailments, especially as we age, and wine may be one way to help. Those who drink wine responsibly and regularly are known to have less stomach fat than those who drink spirits. Additionally, drinking a glass of wine has been known to energize the body into burning more calories shortly after the glass was consumed, which is good news for waistlines.
Women’s Health
We all know men and women’s bodies are different, which means their health concerns are different as well. Scientists have studied the link between drinking wine and ovarian cancer, finding that women who drink at least one glass of wine a day have a highly reduced rate of ovarian cancer. Additionally, women are more likely than men to suffer from bone problems. Women who drink wine regularly are shown to have higher bone mass. This is because alcoholic beverages are known to provide a small amount of estrogen to drinkers. When the hormone is present in the body in a greater amount, it slows down the body’s cycle of tearing down old bone mass, which means you’ll have higher bone mass for a longer period of time.
Socialization
Last, but certainly not least, wine is known to increase social bonding. This can have an overall positive effect on human health as humans are social creatures by nature. By having one to three glasses of wine socially, you feel better able to relax and interact with the people around you. As humans age, it’s important to preserve social circles and seek out human interaction. This in itself can be a stress-reliever, and wine helps you to feel more at ease in such a situation.
Drinking alcohol in excess can be damaging to your mind and body, and lead to dangerous situations. However, drinking wine responsibly and in moderation can be largely beneficial to your health, especially as you age. The only thing better than drinking wine is sending some to the special person you’ve been thinking about. With the many gorgeous wine gift baskets available at Design It Yourself Gift Baskets, you can select and send the wine that’s perfect for your loved one. Not only are you ordering them something delicious and thoughtful, but you’re looking out for their health. Now that’s a true friend!
