A Glass of Wine a Day is Healthy (But Only If You Exercise, Too!)

Plan it right, and sitting down to eat dinner can be an enjoyable experience. Half your plate is filled with fruits and vegetables, along with foods that include lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Surround yourself with good company, and the only thing left is to decide on what to drink.

And if you’re like 66 percent of adults in the United States, a glass of wine may be your drink of choice. In fact, a recent Gallup poll found that the average adult has 4.2 drinks a week. For more than a decade, a growing body of research has suggested that drinking wine in moderate amounts may help lower the risk for heart disease. And that’s important when heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and claims the lives of a nearly 600,000 people a year.

However, European Society of Cardiology researchers recently took a closer look at drinking wine and its heart-protective benefits. They followed 146 people for a year with and average risk for heart disease and tracked the amount of wine they drank.

And what they found was surprising. There was no change in HDL “good” cholesterol and LDL “bad” cholesterol levels from the beginning of the study compared to one year later. Measuring cholesterol levels is one way your doctor can identify your risk for heart disease. In other words, drinking wine didn’t really improve their health. However, researchers found that moderate wine drinkers who also exercised at least twice a week had higher levels of HDL cholesterol after a year.

Here’s how to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal, along with wine’s protective benefits. Enjoy one of the many tasty and healthy MagicKitchen.com meals for Seniors, along with your favorite glass of wine. Then take a walk after dinner, or make time for exercise earlier in the day. Your heart will be healthier, you’ll feel better, and live longer.