The health effects of alcohol

Resveratrol and other grape compounds like flavonoids and anthocyanins, which are also healthy compounds found in plants, have been positively linked to fighting cancer, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, and other ailments. In reality, grapes of all colours, including lighter-coloured ones, bestow health benefits. Red wine has an additional disease-fighting power, compared to white or blush, only because many of these healthy compounds are found in grape skins and only red wine is fermented along with the skins. Resveratrol activates receptors for melatonin, a hormone with strong antioxidant properties. Blood clot formation is reduced, and consequently so are heart attacks. Moreover, if you are a heart attack patient or a coronary artery stent recipient consuming moderate amounts of alcohol, your artery walls will fare better than a teetotaler's, as faster healing appears to be promoted by the alcohol's anti-inflammatory effects on the body.

If you don't drink, should you start?
If you don't drink due to social or religious reasons, the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption are not large enough, however, that you should start drinking. Excessive alcohol intake bestows its own health problems, including a greater risk of high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, breast cancer, suicide, accidents, and more. Nondrinkers can use other strategies, such as regular exercise, smoking cessation, and a healthier diet, to gain protection against heart disease.

Will alcohol intake make you gain weight?
Drinking excess calories in the form of alcohol can certainly lead to gain fat weight, but contrary to common belief, drinking alcohol does not necessarily lead to weight gain, despite its high-calorie content of 7 calories per gram. In fact, a Mayo clinic study of 8,236 men and women found that compared to teetotalers, people who had one or two alcoholic drinks a day were about half as likely to be obese. Nevertheless, it is prudent to keep the higher calorie content of alcohol in mind. Furthermore, alcohol calories should not replace those normally coming from foods that supply your body with necessary vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients.

Read more:
• 5 ways to boost your metabolism naturally
• 5 foods that fight wrinkles
• Wine 101
• Do multivitamins work?
• The 6 worst pieces of weight loss advice

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Excerpted from The Science of Staying Young, copyright 2008 by John Morley and Sheri Colberg. Excerpted with permission from McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.