Coffee & Red Wine Facts
Coffee is looking more like a health food. It contains essential minerals and antioxidants, which promotes metabolic health, and is high in caffeine, which boosts energy levels. A German study led by Kerstin Kempf showed that coffee drinking decreased markers of inflammation and increased HDL (the good cholesterol)— both of which reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also helps you to burn stomach fat.
Regular coffee drinkers gave up coffee for one-month, drank four cups per day during the second month, and eight cups per day during the third month. Blood markers of inflammation decreased by as much as 18 percent and HDL increased by 8 percent as they drank more coffee. Coffee also increased levels of antioxidants, which protect the cells from dangerous free radicals.This is better then just a way to blast away body fat. Coffee had no effect on blood sugar regulation.
The French have the lowest heart disease rate in the world, in spite of eating a diet high in saturated fats— a phenomenon that scientists call the “French paradox.” Red wine consumption might be the cause: the French drink 47 liters of red wine per year, while Americans drink only 7 liters. Red wine contains resveratrol, quercetin, and tannic acid that positively affect heart disease risk factors such as lipoproteins, blood clotting, insulin sensitivity, and blood vessel health.
Scientists from the University of Brescia in Italy found that red wine was a powerful vasodilator (opens blood vessels). It increased blood flow in small blood vessels in people with and without high blood pressure. Chemicals in red wine enhance the health of small blood vessels and might reduce the risk of heart disease
