Women’s Health Newsflash: Alcohol and Heart Health, Aging and Longevity, Rhuematoid Arthritis, and the Liver and Pancreas

Who has time to read it all? This week we’re doing a newsflash a day on the health topics you need to know about to stay healthy. Today’s topic: Alcohol.

Drinking Red Wine Offers Benefits Similar to Low-Calorie Diet
Here’s a new reason to toast red wine: A natural compound called resveratrol, found in certain red wines, may trick the body into thinking it’s getting fewer calories than it actually is — and you don’t need to overindulge to reap the reward. Research published in the June 3 issue of the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science One (PLoS One) suggests that drinking red wine may offer many of the same benefits as a reduced-calorie diet. Read More >>>

Substance in Red Wine, Resveratrol, Found to Keep Hearts Young
How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats? The answer to the so-called “French paradox” may be found in red wine. More specifically, it may reside in small doses of resveratrol, a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods, according to a new study by an international team of researchers. Read More >>>

Why Alcohol Is Bad for Your Pancreas
Much is known about the mechanisms by which excessive alcohol consumption causes damage to organs such as the liver, heart, and brain. However, only recently has progress been made in understanding how excessive alcohol consumption causes damage to the pancreas, and new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying pancreatic damage in mice following alcohol exposure has now been provided by Herbert Gaisano and colleagues at the University of Toronto and University Health Network, Canada. Read More >>>

Regimens: Wine May Help Keep Liver Healthy
Recent reports suggest that red wine is a potent force in increasing lifespan, and a new study offers still more good news for wine drinkers. A glass a day, whether white or red, may reduce the risk of developing the nation’s most common liver disorder, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Researchers studied 7,211 nondrinkers, and 3,598 people who drank a glass a day of wine, beer or liquor, testing them for elevated blood levels of alanine aminotransferase, or ALT, a finding that indicates liver damage. Read More >>>

Drinking Cuts Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
People who drink alcohol regularly may cut their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, a new study finds. Alcohol has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and now this new study shows drinking may also reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by up to 50 percent. This finding underscores the importance of lifestyle factors in the development of rheumatoid arthritis, the study authors said. Read More >>>

Red Wine Compound Helps Heart, May Slow Aging
Resveratrol, a compound found in grapes, red wine, pomegranates and certain other foods, may protect the heart and slow the effects of aging, a new study suggests. Tests in mice revealed that low doses of resveratrol mimic the effects of caloric restriction, diets with 20 percent to 30 percent fewer calories than a typical diet that have been shown to extend life span. Read More >>>

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Contents © Copyright 2008 Kristen King

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