Is wine healthy? In moderation and as part of an overall healthy lifestyle, the short answer is yes! Thanks to its alcohol content and nonalcoholic phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant compounds), wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers and slow the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

However, the amount of wine you drink matters tremendously. When you drink more than what's recommended, your health benefits are lost and your health risks go up. Here's what's considered safe and effective:

Men: no more than 2 drinks per day

Women: no more than 1 drink per day

"One drink" is defined as a 5-ounce glass of red or white wine, 12 ounces of regular beer (1 bottle), or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.

Here’s what we know about wine's health benefits:

It's been well documented that moderate amounts of alcohol can raise your good cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and thin your blood. This is considered one of the primary cardiovascular benefits from wine (red and white), as well as from hard liquor and beer. Nonalcoholic phytochemicals in wine, such as flavanoids and resveratrol, act as antioxidants and prevent molecules known as "free radicals" from causing cellular damage in the body.

Resveratrol has been shown to prevent blood clotting and plaque formation in arteries by altering lipid profiles and plasma viscosity (although some studies focusing on the health benefits of resveratrol involved much greater dosages than you'd find in an average glass of wine). Findings from a recent study suggest that resveratrol can produce potent antithrombotic agents that can potentially improve cardiovascular health and lower the risk for coronary heart disease. In animal studies, resveratrol reduced tumor incidence by affecting one or more stages of cancer development.

Red wine provides much more resveratrol than white. That's because the longer the skin is kept on the grape during the wine making process, the greater the concentration of resveratrol in the wine. In white wine production, the skin is removed before fermentation, giving white wines a lower concentration in resveratrol than red wines. Also, wines made in cooler climates have greater amounts of resveratrol. So red wines from cool climates offer the most benefits. However, before you raise your glass, check out my next entry on medical conditions that warrant caution with wine drinking.

By Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.