Tis The Season

Tis the season to be jolly - and for many of us, that means having an occasional bottle glass of wine. Well, not to worry. It turns out that a little fruit of the vine is a good thing.

All the Ways Red Wine Makes You Healthier

It makes you happier

But apart from the pure joy you get while drinking it, red wine may actually fight depression. Moderate alcohol consumption generally helps ward off depression, but researchers found that wine had the strongest effect...

It crushes colds

Drink red wine and never catch a cold! Kind of! Resveratrol -- a polyphenol that's found in the skin of red grapes -- is responsible for this effect, as it works with vitamin D to bolster a type of gene that plays a part in immune function. Another study suggests that moderate alcohol consumption can also act as an immunity booster, and these are scientists saying it, so you know it's true. Those scientists discovered this by giving monkeys 22-hour-a-day access to booze, so they must be really smart to have secured funding for that experiment.

Scientist studying the effects of wine on colds.

It's good for your heart

It turns out that the heart is a pretty important organ, and red wine helps protect it. Not only does it increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind) in people with type 2 diabetes, but resveratrol (again) is good for any heart. Resveratrol prevents heart-disease-promoting inflammation, and reduces systolic blood pressure, which can slash the risk of stroke.

It makes you smarter

Sure, alcohol may have played a role in some of your dumber decisions, but drinking red wine may ultimately help improve memory and protect the brain. Resveratrol is at it again, with one study showing it may improve memory, and another suggesting it may help brain cells survive a stroke by hiking up the levels of a protective enzyme in the brain. You want to be smarter and happier, don't you?

So relax and enjoy your wine free from guilt. After all, it's the holiday season...