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18 April 2017

Is Red Wine Better For You Than White Wine?

Most of us will have heard of the term ‘the French paradox’ catch phrasing the observation that the French have relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) despite having a diet rich in saturated fats. This is thought to be down to regular, moderated wine consumption which gives more people the antioxidants to fight off health issues.

For a long time, these health benefits were associated with red wine but there is little evidence to suggest that this is true within a laboratory setting. In fact, Vinson and Hontz from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Scranton published a paper titled "Phenol Antioxidant Index: Comparative Antioxidant Effectiveness of Red and White Wines" 1995. This study showed that even though red wines had a higher phenol content than white wine, the white wines had a significantly lower 1C50 (the concentration for 50% inhibition of low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol). This essence, this means that white wines contain better quality antioxidants than the red. Whilst some studies such have shown that red might contain more antioxidants (e.g., Frankel, E. N. 1994), better quality antioxidants found in white wine certainly puts a rest to the health benefits solely being related to red wine as it once was.

There are many other health benefits associated with moderate wine consumption. According to Amsterdam's VU University Medical Center (2005), moderate drinkers have 30 percent less risk than non-drinkers of developing type 2 diabetes. In 2006 Columbia University study over an 8 year period found that you were 50% less likely of suffering a blood clot–related stroke with regular moderate wine consumption.

Whilst many are becoming more aware of the health benefits of drinking wine, suppliers are catering to the widening demand for natural and organic wine. Natural wine supplier; Good Wine Online offer a range of white and red wines to suit a range of ‘health wine drinkers’ who want sulphite free options. Sulphite free wine is, of course, known for its ‘hangover free’ qualities as well as being better for your overall health in comparison to regular wine.