In Vino Veritas … et non est sanitas

The saying arises from the belief that alcohol releases inhibitions…at least the first part of the saying, to which I took the liberty of adding to. But there is health in wine. From a factual standpoint, wine does indeed offer many health benefits and in particular, for the heart. Here’s a snippet of some of the most relevant as they pertain to this last post written for February’s National Heart Month which ended yesterday, thanks to Food and Wine: Moderate wine consumption, the definition of which varies depending on the source:

• Reduces Heart-Attack Risk.  Moderate drinkers suffering from high blood pressure are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than nondrinkers
• Lowers Risk of Heart Disease.  Red-wine tannins contain procyanidins, which protect against heart disease. Wines from Sardinia and southwest France have more procyanidins than other wines.
• Raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol
• Reduces the formation of blood clots
• Helps prevent artery damage caused by high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the “bad” cholesterol
• Produces changes in blood pressure

All of the above are the sole reasons to raise a glass and make a toast.   Nothing to do with the mouth feel, viscosity, flavor profile or compatibility with a grass fed carpaccio with truffle oil.  Nope, not at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s about time to ingest a bit of resveratrol.  (Keeping in mind that I’ve scheduled this post in advance; I’m not really drinking a glass of wine at 6 am, in case you were wondering). Skol!