well its been known for awhile that having A glass of red wine at the dinner table has been known to lower ones chacnes of heart related problems as what you have said confirms this once again.

not a secret to me but i'm not a fan of red wine or any wine for that matter.

good article though.

The September/October 2003 issue of Herbs for Health has the following blurb on page 56:

"The French Paradox. Ever hear of the French paradox? French people have a relatively low rate of heart disease despite a high-fat diet, replete with cream sauces and croissants. Investigators believe the secret lies in the intake of wine, which contains high amounts of proanthocyanidins. These compounds, which belong to the flavonoid family, are found in bilberries, cranberries, black currants, green tea, black tea, grape juice and wine. They are also available as supplements, derived from pine bark or grape seeds. The main functions of proanthocyanidins are as antioxidants, and they serve to stabilize the walls of our blood vessels."

I guess I would have to get mine in either pill form or by drinking green tea. I don't like red wine except as a minor ingredients in some of my Italian recipes such as my home made tomato sauce.

I've seen some studies on the French Paradox awhile back, and it was reasonably convincing. I think the key ingredient is the high amount of antioxidants in the diet (grape seed oil, etc, as Herblady mentioned.)

And green tea! (great stuff!)

Many people can't drink red wine because the tannins produce headaches.