I don’t want to get too technical on this one, probably because I don’t understand half of the medical terms myself, but let’s try to break it down:  We know that high cholesterol is bad for one’s health. But it seems that the cholesterol issue is not all that simple: there is good cholesterol (HDL or high-density lipoproteins) and bad cholesterol (LDL or low-density lipoproteins). The bad cholesterol is the one that clogs up your arteries while good cholesterol scours the arteries and removes the bad cholesterol.

From what I gathered, the main reason for this French paradox is the fact that moderate alcohol consumption increases the production of good cholesterol, which facilitates the transfer of bad cholesterol from the clogged-up arteries to your liver, where it gets broken down and removed from the system. Take note that this cholesterol benefit is the result of moderate alcohol concumption, so a glass of white wine, red wine or even whisky can help to bring your cholesterol down.

The other major health benefit from drinking wine involves anti-oxidants. Antioxidants have the ability to absorb free radicals – those unstable atoms which can speed up ageing and even cause cancer. This sounds like something you’re likely to pick up from hanging around a Chernobyl-like disaster area! 

Reality is that your body produces free radicals but also have systems in place to remove them. Problems arise when these systems are not effective and the free radicals hang around for too long, giving them time to do serious damage to your body. But antioxidants can neutralise the potentially damaging free radicals, slowing down ageing and even reducing cancer risks.

Grape skins contain a fair amount of these antioxidants, with components called resveratrol and melatonin the most effective. Remember, red wine ferments on the grape skins as opposed to white wine where the juice and skins are separated immediately. The antioxidants are obtained from the grape skins, so these benefits apply to red wine only.

Please note that the above only refers to the health benefits of moderate wine consumption, i.e. two glasses of wine per day. Binge drinking tips the scale to the opposite side, where too much wine can definitely do more damage than good. Terms and conditions apply.

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