Was your New Years Resolution to eat healthy? Drink more wine!

I would love to say that I made a New Years Resolution this year....but I did not. However, the top resolutions for 2012 according to usa.gov....#1 Drink Less Alcohol and #2 Eat Healthy. Ok well. I say here is to moderation of your alcohol in achieving goal #2...to be healthy.   I don't believe in diets, I don't believe in limiting yourself of what you love.....its all about moderation, right? AND WINE, in moderation, has been long proven to actually be good for you.

According to Health Magazine(http://www.health.com/) the top 6 reasons Why a Little Glass of Wine Each Day Will Do You Good.

1) Feed Your Head
Wine could preserve your memory. When researchers gave memory quizzes to women in their 70s, those who drank one drink or more every day scored much better than those who drank less or not at all. Wine helps prevent clots and reduce blood vessel inflammation, both of which have been linked to cognitive decline and heart disease, explains Tedd Goldfinger, DO, of the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Alcohol also seems to raise HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, which helps unclog your arteries.
2) Keep the Scale in Your Corner
Studies find that people who drink wine daily have lower body mass than those who indulge occasionally; moderate wine drinkers have narrower waists and less abdominal fat than people who drink liquor. Alcohol may encourage your body to burn extra calories for as long as 90 minutes after you down a glass. Beer seems to have a similar effect.
3) Boost Your Bodies Defenses
In one British study, those who drank roughly a glass of wine a day reduced by 11% their risk of infection by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, a major cause of gastritis, ulcers, and stomach cancers. As little as half a glass may also guard against food poisoning caused by germs like salmonella when people are exposed to contaminated food, according to a Spanish study.
4) Guard Against Ovarian WoesWhen Australian researchers recently compared women with ovarian cancer to cancer-free women, they found that roughly one glass of wine a day seemed to reduce the risk of the disease by as much as 50 percent. Earlier research at the University of Hawaii produced similar findings. Experts suspect this may be due to antioxidants or phytoestrogens, which have high anticancer properties and are prevalent in wine. And in a recent University of Michigan study, a red wine compound helped kill ovarian cancer cells in a test tube.
5) Build Better BonesOn average, women who drink moderately seem to have higher bone mass than abstainers. Alcohol appears to boost estrogen levels; the hormone seems to slow the body’s destruction of old bone more than it slows the production of new bone.
6) Prevent Blood Sugar Trouble
Premenopausal women who drink one or two glasses of wine a day are 40 percent less likely than women who don’t drink to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a 10-year study by Harvard Medical School. While the reasons aren’t clear, wine seems to reduce insulin resistance in diabetic patients.

And Finally ........A little Wine Reading Material to FEED YOUR HEAD !

I have not yet read the book above, but have added it to my reading list for 2012 and just ordered on Amazon for a mere $3.48 plus shipping...not bad for a nearly 400 page paperback on the health benefits of wine. Now this book and red wine in general are not part of the "diet to help you lose weight," but instead maintain an overall healthy lifestyle. Roger Corder chronicles in this book the health benefits that red wine drinkers achieve. Wine drinkers are less prone to heart disease, diabetes, and dementia than non- wine drinkers. But also gets into what exactly is it about wine that keeps us healthy? Which is better for you, a California Cabernet or Syrah from the south of France? How can you choose wines that both suit your tastes and benefit your health? Happy Reading!