Wine Helps Prevent Strokes

The New England Journal of Medicine reported in Volume 341, Number 21 that drinking a glass of wine from once a day to once a week can reduce the risk of having a stroke.

The study followed 22,071 male physicians, 40 to 84 years old, who drank from no alcohol to three drinks a day. This was the largest alcohol - stroke study done to date, and found that the moderate drinkers lowered their risk of ischemic stroke by around 20 percent. An Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke. The alcohol had no effect on the more rare form of stroke, hemorrhagic, where there is sudden bleeding in the brain.

The researchers assume that the same benefits would be conferred on women as well, since the alcohol is in essence "clearing out the arteries", something that would happen for both sexes. The alcohol itself breaks up blood clots, while the wine also increases the amount of HDL ("good" cholesterol) in the bloodstream.

This is not the first study to show how alcohol helps prevent strokes. The Northern Manhattan Stroke Study found the same protection occurred against ischemic stroke among whites, blacks, and Hispanics.

Giving a toast to your health is now more literal than ever!

Note:

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Wine and Health



All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.