UK supermarket Sainsbury's has taken a bold step by launching Red Heart, an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon - Petit Verdot selling at £4.99, claiming it has an antioxidant level 32% higher than other red wines. These antioxidants derive from polyphenols in red grape skins and pips and might help our bodies combat cell damage, heart disease etc. When drunk in moderation of course: excessive alcohol will probably cause your liver to pack up. Red Heart is quite risky on two fronts then: the anti-alcohol element could slam JS for promoting drinking, and new research keeps appearing about possible health benefits of red wine, which seems to be based on lab experiments. Writer, publisher of Wineanorak.com and scientist-author Jamie Goode believes their claims are rubbish: read his blog for more details on antioxidants, wine and health etc. Still, in a climate of binge-drinking and governments getting very heavy around the world, it's commendable that potential benefits of moderate red wine drinking should be communicated, as long as scientific evidence can back it up. Their press release emphasises, of course, that "Sainsbury's supports sensible drinking..." and includes the www.drinkaware.co.uk website. Another good one is Alcohol in Moderation. I look forward to seeing more research on antioxidants in red wine and their actual effect on the human body. Would be good to know if it really does have a place in a healthy balanced diet! Not that mine is very...
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