It didn’t take humanity very long to figure out alcohol given how the evidence of how long it has been with us. Spirits have taken many forms across the years, but one of the ones we’ve proven most enamored with is wine. These rich, complex alcoholic drinks are the subject of much discussion. People debate the flavors and the best ways to find a good wine in a world awash with them. One of the other things that people frequently talk about is that there may actually be a health benefit to drink the right wine. Red wine is credited with being a potential route to longevity when consumed in the right amount. Many are likely to already have a strong appreciation for wine and this may just give them another reason for supporting their favored drink.

Why Red Wine?
It turns out that red wine is, like so many of the beauty products people like, full of antioxidants. In this case, they take the form of flavonoids. There are a variety of them in red wine thanks to their origin as red grapes, but the flavonoid that draws the most attention is resveratrol. It has received the most study when it comes to determining what exactly it is about red wine that seems to be linked to longer lives and better health. We all know that antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in the body. This helps on its own, but studies seem to indicate that it also triggers something in our bodies that causes us to have improved health. The speculation mainly center on sufficient amounts of resveratrol triggering something in our genetics that helps guard against common ailments associated with aging such as heart disease and maybe even cancer.

The Caveat
In many ways, this potential trait of red wine is a boon to anyone that enjoys a good glass of wine with a meal or to wind down in the evening. There is a lot of push for this to be true. The downside is that some of the research is slightly unclear and it seems like there’s a shift every few years on whether or not wine is good for your health in the long run. Many doctors put this down to the fact that you need to consume the wine in a moderate amount and anyone drinking it in excess of this will encounter health problems as usual. For most of us, the amount of wine that’s ideal is around a glass per day and no more. The health problems from excess amounts of red wine are to be expected though. We often forget, given how accepted alcoholic drinks are, that alcohol itself is a poison to our bodies.

All The Benefits and None of The Drawbacks
There is a way around the problem with getting resveratrol from red wine. You can go straight to the source. Consider keeping red grapes around as a regular snack. It’s actually better for you to get them this way as you’ll both get more of the compound as it won’t have gone through fermentation and other processes involved in making wine, and you’ll be getting many additional nutrients from the grapes themselves. Additionally, you can get resveratrol from other sources if you don’t enjoy grapes. Peanuts and blueberries are also sources of the compound. You’ll want to favor fresher and less treated versions of any of these foods to get the most out of them. Remember that the beauty of red wine’s capabilities aren’t from it being wine and these other sources can give you the benefits you want without the possible drawbacks of alcohol.

Red wine is a drink that pairs well with different kinds of meals and, it turns out, a longer life. You need to focus on enjoying it correctly though. Excess consumption of any alcohol will negatively impact your health in the long run as per usual whether it’s red wine or not. However, it does seem like that there’s something to red wine and personal longevity just as we acknowledged that Cleopatra must surely have known something about beauty.