Slim, Smart and Healthy With Champagne, Red Wine and Chocolate

Slim, Smart and Healthy With Champagne, Red Wine and Chocolate!

If you enjoy a glass of red wine or champagne now and then, and LOVE chocolate, you’ll love this article!

Everyone knows that food like fruits, berries, veggies and wild-caught fish are so called healthy foods, that we should eat often to promote good health, longevity, a healthy weight etc.

Then there’s food and drinks we should avoid, or at least consume less often, because they can have a negative effect on our health, weight and how we feel.

However, what perhaps is less well-known is that the following three, kind of “luxury” drinks and food, namely Champagne, red wine and chocolate, actually also offer some interesting health benefits!

I think most people enjoy them, but don’t really know they come with some health benefits.

But there’s research showing that Champagne, red wine and chocolate can do just that!

Here’s why Champagne, red wine and chocolate can help you stay slim, smart and healthy:

Champagne

Champagne can support your heart and brain.

Research at the University of Reading in the UK has shown that drinking one to three glasses of Champagne per week may counteract the memory loss associated with aging.

Champagne may even delay the onset of degenerative brain disorders, such as dementia and alzheimers.

The reason for this is that Champagne contains phenolic compounds, that stimulate the signals the human brain needs to remember things.

Only red grapes have the phenolic compounds this research attributed the beneficial effects to.

And Champagne, unlike other sparkling white wines, contain red grapes such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, along with white grapes e.g. Chardonnay.

Additionally, previous research from the University of Reading, shows that champagne is also good for your heart and blood circulation, and that it reduces the risk of heart failure and stroke.

Red Wine

Studies from Washington State University and Harvard Medical School indicate that one or two glasses of red wine in the evening can help you lose weight.

The reason for this is that resveratrol, a polyphenol antioxidant, in red wine, helps turn “white fat” into “brown fat”. Brown fat is easier to burn than white.

Although white fat is protective, too much of it leads to imbalance, overweight and disease.

Polyphenols like resveratrol are beneficial as they enhance the oxidation of white fat so it won’t be overloaded, and the excess is burned off as heat.

Some studies suggests that polyphenols in grapes and grape products may reduce metabolic syndrome and prevent development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

There are also some studies indicating that resveratrol is good for the heart, helps protect against alzheimers, has anti-inflammatory effects, supports longevity and youthfulness.

Professor Min Du, the author of the Washington State University study, points out though that red wine isn’t necessarily the best or most efficient way to get resveratrol.

If you don’t like red wine or want to avoid alcohol, resveratrol and polyphenol compounds can be found in e.g. dark chocolate, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes and apples.

Another interesting possible health benefit of red wine is its prebiotic benefits:

“A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;95:1323-1334) reported that people who drank 2 glasses of red wine per day (dry red wine, not sugary dessert wines) had higher levels of beneficial bacteria in their gut and lower levels of pathogenic bad bacteria in their gut. This is great news as you know how vastly important your gut flora balance is to everything from your digestion, immunity, metabolism, skin health, and much more.”

Source: Mike Geary, http://www.truthaboutabs.com/red-wine-benefits.html

Additionally, a glass of red wine consumed with a meal can slow and moderate the blood sugar response you get from that meal. And as you may know, a stable blood sugar level supports balanced hormones, lower insulin levels, controlled appetite, and staying lean!

=> Click here for an excellent source of high quality resveratrol: Resveratrol

Chocolate

So who doesn’t LOVE chocolate???

I’m a true chocolate junkie….! I know it’s not the healthiest thing to snack… BUT! Good news is, there are some interesting health benefits with chocolate too!!!

To start with, most chocolate lovers say that they feel happier when eating chocolate.

The explanation to this is probably, that chocolate contains a number of substances – in very small doses, which affects our reward system, such as: caffeine, cannabis-like structures, central stimulants and endorphins. Together they work for a mood-enhancing effect.

Chocolate can also make you smarter.

The kind of healthy fats found in i.a. chocolate, is very good for your brain. According to one study, people who had two servings of hot cocoa every day for thirty days were able to complete timed cognitive testing 30 percent faster than the non-cocoa drinkers. Patients with restricted blood flow to the brain at the beginning of the study saw an eight percent improvement in blood flow at the end of the study.

Furthermore, chocolate can protect your skin from harmful UV rays, aging and contribute to radiant skin. Cocoa has one of the highest content of catechins (a flavanol i.e. a type of natural phenol and antioxidant) among foods.

The cacao flavanols can also contribute to lower the risk for heart disease. There is a study from Scotland with nearly five thousand participants, showing that the participants who ate chocolate more than five times a week lowered their risk for heart disease by 42 percent.

Moreover, chocolate can also lower inflammation, stress and curb your cravings for less healthy sweets!

However, not ALL chocolate is this healthy. If you want the highest level of health benefits from your chocolate, it should be made of high quality and organic ingredients and have at least 70 percent cacao.

The darker the chocolate, the better – the higher the cacao content, the more flavanols.

Doesn’t it feel good to know all this next time you’re having a glass of red wine or Champagne…. or have a piece of chocolate after dinner!

Most people love chocolate, because it helps us feel happier. For a lot of people, it’s the same with a glass of red wine or Champagne. It adds some extra luxury to your day.

It’s important though to indulge on this with common sense! Everyone knows that too much alcohol has a negative effect on your over-all health, weight and also increases the aging process.

And to be honest, Champagne is a bit 😉 too expensive to indulge every day for most people… it’s rather more for special occasions.

And as for chocolate…. Too much of even the healthiest and darkest chocolate you can find will probably sooner or later start showing around your waist!

So treat yourself and enjoy these luxuries, BUT in moderation and perhaps not each and every day!

Make sure to SHARE this post with all your friends who happen to LOVE Champagne, Red Wine or Chocolate….!!! 

Ps: Would you like to have your youthful energy and vitality back? Even look younger?

Then click here =>> How To Look and Feel More Youthful

Contact me for any questions and let’s connect!

References:

http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR503596.aspx

http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR259265.aspx

http://www.medicaldaily.com/red-wine-may-boost-memory-thanks-resveratrol-special-compound-287154

https://news.tamhsc.edu/?post=compound-found-in-grapes-red-wine-may-help-reverse-memory-loss

http://www.medicaldaily.com/red-wine-may-boost-memory-thanks-resveratrol-special-compound-287154

Studies from Washington State University and Harvard Medical School

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/drinking-wine-bed-could-help-you-lose-weight-says-science

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/06/22/how-to-lose-weight-red-wine-and-berries-burn-fat_n_7634378.html

Protect /Help against Alzh. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26362286

(Source: https://news.wsu.edu/2015/06/18/wsu-scientists-turn-white-fat-into-obesity-fighting-beige-fat/ )

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28086917

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20238161

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338356/

Anti-inflammatory effects: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27379440

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4882663/

Protect the heart: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15492766

(Source: Mike Geary, http://www.truthaboutabs.com/red-wine-benefits.html )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenolic_content_in_wine

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22552027

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/95/6/1323.long

https://draxe.com/benefits-of-dark-chocolate/

http://n.neurology.org/content/early/2013/08/07/WNL.0b013e3182a351aa

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=regular+consumption+of+dark+chocolate+is+associated+with+low+serum

https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/news/20091113/dark-chocolate-takes-bite-out-of-stress

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666316300459

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catechin

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22552027

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/95/6/1323.long (red wine and gut microbiota)

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