Red wine can offer some pretty impressive health benefits, including the ability to help lower your bad cholesterol. The key, cholesterol-lowering ingredients are resveratrol and saponins, which are both found in grape skins. The amount of these ingredients in red wine varies drastically depending on the type and the maker, but pinot noirs generally deliver a high concentration of both resveratrol and saponins.
Benefits
Red wine is especially beneficial for cholesterol levels because the antioxidants in it raise your HDL, or good cholesterol level, while the resveratrol in it lowers your LDL, or bad cholesterol level. Eating red and purple grapes might have some of the same benefits as consuming red wine, but according to the Mayo Clinic, it has not yet been proven. Other dietary sources of resveratrol include peanuts, blueberries and cranberries. Resveratrol is also available as a supplement. Because of potential health risks, you should only take supplements under the care of a doctor.
Types
A study reported in "Science Daily" and conducted by the University of California, Davis found that red zinfandel had the highest amount of saponins followed by syrah and pinot noir. Meanwhile, pinot noir came out as the clear winner in terms of resveratrol. According to "U.S. News and World Report," pinot noir contains up to 40 times as much resveratrol as merlot and cabernet sauvignon. If you're looking for the maximum health benefits, you should avoid white wine all together. Most white wines are not fermented until after the grape skins have been removed, so they contain little if any resveratrol or saponins.
Regions
The region where the grapes are grown is also an important factor in how much resveratrol it contains. Grapes grown in cool, damp places such as the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York tend to have a higher concentration of resveratrol than grapes grown in warmer climates such as California. The exact amount can change from year to year even within bottles from the same vineyard because of changing growing conditions. To derive the most health benefits, choose a variety of pinot noirs from cooler climates. Because the resveratrol in red wine tends to break down about a day after the bottle is corked, you should consider sharing.
Warning
Excessive drinking can have serious repercussions on your health such as high blood pressure, liver problems, obesity and can even cause certain types of cancer. To derive the health benefits of red wine and avoid the risks, you should only drink it in moderation. Moderate drinking is typically defined as one 5 oz. glass of wine a day for women and two for men. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are not advised to drink alcohol.
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