The Wine-Fish Oil Connection

Everyone by now knows that a little bit of red wine consumed daily is good for you. It’s one of the secrets behind the Mediterranean diet and the “French Paradox,” which is how the French can eat fatty cheeses and patés but have low rates of heart disease. Just why this is the case may have something to do with wine’s ability to protect Omega-3s in your system. An Italian study released this month confirmed in the test tube what an earlier study had already shown to be true in the red blood cells of 1,604 women and men from Italy, Belgium and England: that moderate levels of wine protect Omega-3s from being oxidized—i.e. destroyed—in the human body. Turns out a similar effect may be produced by other healthy foods, like berries, cocoa and extra virgin olive oil. So, if you don’t want to drink that daily glass of red wine, taking Omega-3 fatty acid supplements may do the trick instead.

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