WINE AND GOOD CHOLESTEROL

THERE’S A FINE line to walk between good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol. Getting enough of the good is always a challenge while the bad always seems to be in abundance. But it turns out that boosting your HDL could be as simple as enjoying a glass of red wine! A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reported on a group of 224 volunteers who were variously told to drink 5 ounces of mineral water, dry white wine or dry red wine for two years with dinner. At the end of the study, “the red wine drinkers had significantly increased their levels of good HDL cholesterol and had a more beneficial cholesterol ratio compared to the group that drank water.” The study went on to say that the red wine drinkers, “reported better sleep quality than the group that drank water” and had lower cardiometabolic risk factors. The red wine control group certainly drew the lucky straws for this study.