First, researchers say one to two (and no more) drinks of wine is beneficial to your heart and brain health. The wine contains antioxidants that have reported benefits for years. The alcohol itself has positive benefits in moderation. While you could get this second benefit from beer or hard alcohol as well, you lose the antioxidants. Second, wine is a food drink.

One suggestion as to why some of these antioxidants are present in red wines is that grapes that have been distressed during their growth will exhibit the highest level of antioxidants. Red-skinned grapes seem to have better growing success in less temperate climates but exhibit the effects of stressful weather conditions in the form of higher levels of resveratrol. Before all you wine enthusiasts start shouting, “I told you so!” let me point out that many of the same antioxidant benefits can also be found in dark beers, too.

White wines can be found in several varieties, and these can range in calories and carbohydrates significantly. Though most white wines contain between 100 and 120 calories per five-ounce glass, some can run as high as 217. Grams of carbohydrates per glass can vary even among those wines with similar caloric content. If you are concerned about the calories in white wine, you’ll want to examine the specific type of wine for more insight.

So, what about carbohydrates? Many nutritionists may not think a lot about low-carbohydrate diets. However, in case you’re following one of these faddish plans, then you may find it difficult to fit in much wine. The amounts may differ, but a 5-ounce serving of dry white table wine can consist of 1.25 grams of carbohydrates, whereas a glass of red can go up to 2.5 grams and sweet wines may have considerably more

According to Atkins refined carbohydrates, in particular sugar and flour, are the main cause of obesity. He also felt that saturated fat was not a major nutritional problem, and was much less a factor in developing vascular disease than the trans fats often found in hydrogenated oils. At the risk of oversimplifying, this diet tells you to cut the carbs and not worry about dietary fat. It also recommends nutritional supplements and exercise.

Good carbohydrates are high in fiber or high in good fats, and have a low glycemic index, which means they are digested and absorbed slowly. Preferred carbohydrates have more nutritional value than the alternatives. The South Beach Diet allows brown rice in moderation, but discourages white rice. When you eat carbohydrates, you should also eat fiber or fat to slow digestion of the carbohydrates.

One drawback of the Zone Diet is the need to measure your food intake quite precisely. The food groups are broken into ‘blocks’ subdivided into ‘mini-blocks’. A typical meal might involve one block of Carbohydrates, composed of three mini-blocks such as 1 cup of green beans, 2 cups of yellow squash, and 1 glass of red wine. As with many diets, you should buy a specialized cookbook. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of this diet.

Different types of grapes and different strains of grapes are responsible for the production of different types of wines. Apples and berries are also utilized for the preparation of wines and the wines obtained are named after the name of the fruit like apple wine or elderberry wine or are popularly name as fruit wine or country wine. Barley and rice wine are prepared from the starch based materials and resemble beer and spirit more than wine and ginger wine is fortified with brandy.

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