Wine-O's Unite! Raise your glass.. Is Wine Good for You?

Thanks to its alcohol content and non-alcoholic phytochemicals (natural occurring plant compounds), wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and slow the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

However, the amount of wine you drink matters tremendously. Drink more than what’s recommended, your health benefits are lost and your health risks go up.

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Here’s what’s considered safe and effective:

Men: No more than two drinks per day.

Women: No more than one drink per day.

One drink is defined as a 5-ounce glass of red or white wine, 12 ounces of regular beer (1 bottle) or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

The health benefits of wine

When it comes to wine’s health capabilities, here’s what we know:

It’s been well documented that moderate amounts of alcohol can raise your good cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and thin your blood. This is thought to be one of the primary cardiovascular benefits from wine (red and white), as well as hard liquor and beer.

Non-alcoholic phytochemicals in wine, such as flavanoids and resveratrol, act as antioxidants and prevent molecules known as “free radicals” from causing cellular damage in the body.

The negative side of wine

Wine, however, is not for everyone. Certain medical conditions are worsened by the consumption of wine, so it’s vital you seek the advice of your personal physician. Here’s a few things to know:

High Triglycerides: One downside to wine consumption is that it can elevate triglyceride levels, which is associated with health problems such as diabetes. Those who already have high triglycerides should, therefore, avoid or dramatically limit their wine (and alcohol) consumption.

Breast Cancer Risk: Studies have shown alcohol can increase estrogen levels and raise tumor progression in women with (or at high risk for) estrogen positive breast cancer.

Migraines: Wine is often a big trigger for people who suffer with migraine headaches. Although white wine contains more sulfites than red wine (sulfites are added to white wine to preserve its light color), red wine seems to be a much bigger migraine trigger. That’s probably due to the accumulation of histamines and tannins from prolonged contact with the skin.

Weight Gain: People who drink alcohol also consume empty calories, calories that lack nutrients and can lead to weight gain.

Five ounces white or red wine = approximately 120 calories. Drink a bottle of wine (4 glasses), and you’ll be consuming about 480 calories (that’s the equivalent of two 20-ounce Cokes!).

Here’s how alcohol compares to carbohydrate/protein/fat:

1 gram carb = 4 calories

1 gram protein = 4 calories

1 gram fat = 9 calories

1 gram alcohol = 7 calories

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Joy Bauer is the author of “Food Cures.” For more information on healthy eating, check out Joy’s Web site at http://www.joybauernutrition.com/

Kevin Sbraga wins as the first African American TOP CHEF!!!!

"You are Top Chef," Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi told Kevin, a 30-year-old from Willingboro, NJ, as he and fellow finalists Ed Cotton and Angelo Sosa waited to learn their fate.

"I am?" Ed asked.

"That was the best reaction ever!" lead judge Tom Colicchio laughed.

"I won, Jersey's taking the belt home," a more composed Kevin said afterwards. "It's really like a dream come true... this is a life-changer. My career has been good, but this could make it great, it could make it incredible."

"It's absolutely huge that I'm the first African-American Top Chef. My dad, my sister, my friends, the guys at the barber shop -- they're going to eat it up, they're going to love it. I'm Top Chef!"

Kevin
Vegetable course: eggplant, zucchini and pepper terrine -- call it sweet justice for Ed, but Eric Ripert was a fan of the presentation but not the lack of flavor or contrast
Fish course: pan-seared rouget with cuttlefish sauce and noodles -- who knew potbelly and squid went together like peanut butter and jelly? Kevin did!
Meat course: roasted duck breast with duck dumpling -- Eric was amazed by the caramelized bok choy. "I have never zeen zees!"
Dessert course: frozen Singapore sling with tropical fruits -- restaurateur Iggy Chan was positively floored by the sling, which he deemed the new national dessert. Everyone seemed to agree that it was a complex, successful spin on a traditional favorite.

SOURCE::: www.huffingtonpost.com

OATS::: The superfood! Health Benefits of eating OATS...

Eating a bowl of oatmeal each morning is the perfect way to start your day off right. This article will explain the six benefits of eating oatmeal and ways to make it taste delicious.
First off, the oatmeal discussed here is not the instant kind that comes in the different flavors — these are full of sugar. The real stuff is the plain oat flakes from Quaker Oats or a similar brand.
The benefits of oatmeal are due to the fact that it's made from oats and oats are a good source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.
According to the American Cancer Society:

1. Insoluble fiber's cancer-fighting properties are due to the fact that it attacks certain bile acids, reducing their toxicity.
2. Soluble fiber may reduce LDL cholesterol without lowering HDL cholesterol. LDL is bad; HDL is good.
3. Soluble fiber slows down the digestion of starch. This may be beneficial to diabetics because, when you slow down the digestion of starch, you avoid the sharp rises in your blood sugar level that usually occur following a meal.
4. It has been found that those who eat more oats are less likely to develop heart disease, a disease that is currently widespread in the United States.
5. The phytochemicals in oat may also have cancer-fighting properties.
6. Oats are a good source of many nutrients including vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium. Oats are also a good source of protein.

The difference between insoluble and soluble fiber, besides the foods that they come from, is what they do in your body.

Insoluble fiber's main role is that it makes stools heavier and speeds their passage through the gut, relieving constipation. Soluble fiber breaks down as it passes through the digestive tract, forming a gel that traps some substances related to high cholesterol, thus reducing the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream.

To read the entire article click link::

http://health.learninginfo.org/benefits-oatmeal.htm