How the Polyphenols prevent cancer and heart diseases. Red wine and Apples

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The main aspect of the Mediterranean diet is the high consume of fresh fruits and 1 glass a day of red wine. Recent studies confirm their health benefits in preventing cancer and heart diseases.

The Mediterranean diet is an ancient eating habit used by the Mediterranean people.

It's not a strictly diet but a philosophy to approach foods.

It's based on 7 simple foods categories:

- Fresh fruit (Apples, Pears, berries, oranges, lemons)

- Vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, eggplants, zucchini)

- Beans

- Pasta and bread

- Meat (poultry, rabbit, fish, goat)

- Red wine

- Milk and Cheese (from sheep)

An example of a typical eating day is based on 5 phases

- Breakfast

- Snack (11:00 AM)

- Lunch

- Snack (18:00 PM)

- Dinner

The base concept of this diet is the "Unique plate". It means to join together different food categories.

Some examples are:

- Pasta with beans (fiber, carbs and veg. proteins)

- Pizza (veg, proteins and carbs)

- Greek salads (veg. and fruit)

So...why the Mediterranean diet is so important for our health?

The answer is simple: "Its foods contain healthy elements"

A good example are Polyphenols. Apples and Red wines are a great source of Polyphenols.

According to wikipedia, Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol group per molecule.

These chemicals can be found in high levels in the fruit skins.

They have an anti-oxidant action that reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Everybody of us know that eating fresh fruit helps preventing cancer and other diseases.

Do you remember the ancient said:"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"?

Now we know it's true. A new study conduced by the Italian cancer league (www.legatumori.it) confirms it.

Researchers have demonstrated that eating Apples helps in reducing the cancer cells of:

* 40-60% (Eat the skin)

* 30-40% (Eat only the pulp)

Other recent researches have shown that eating apples helps to:

* Prevent the growth of prostate cancer cells (Thanks to the presence of the flavonoid Quercetin, an anti-oxidant)

* Inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells (thanks to the skin of apples)

* Reduce the risk of lung cancer

* Inhibit the developments of bladder cancer (especially in smokers)

Another great source of polyphenols is Red wine.

On November 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), some French researches found that polyphenols play a beneficial role on heart and circulatory system.

Polyphenols found in the skin and around the pips of red grapes (not White) facilitate the blood vessel growth.

The quantity of polyphenols necessary to obtain these effects are the equivalent of 1 glass of wine a day.

The wines that boast the biggest amount of polyphenols are those using Tannat (A red wine grape grown in southern France).

To increase your healthy life style you can:

- Eat fruit out of the principal meals. You can use it as snack. (Helpful to lose weight too)

- Eat 2 fruits at least 2 times a day (2 apples or 1 apple with orange/grape juice)

- Substitute fatty snacks with an home made apple pie

- Drink a glass of wine a day (Better for dinner)

Read more:

- The Mediterranean diet menu http://www.mediterraneanbook.com/the-mediterranean-diet/

- Translated version of the Apple study http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clandestinoweb.com%2Fnumber-news%2Fe-vero-1-mela-al-giorno-toglie-il-medico-di-torno-2.html&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

- Study of the positive effects od red wine on heart http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030082146.htm

- Wikipedia about Polyphenols http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphenols

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[Note for the editor: Please put these links clikkable. Thank you for reading.]

Author: Enrico Forte

Source: http://www.howtowine.org