champagne: it really does go to your head.

Billie Holiday may have meant tipsy when she wrote about bubbles in a glass of Champagne going to her head, but I’ll have you know those  little carbonated beads of perfection do more for your head than you might think.  Red isn’t the only color of wine that provides health benefits.  Recent studies have revealed that the occasional glass of champagne actually works to protect the brain in particular.

A well-known antioxidant called polyphenols are responsible for this benefit.  The highest concentration may be in red wine, but bubbly isn’t far behind.  Polyphenols keep cells alive with oxidative stress.  Plus, sparkling wine contains other phenolic compounds like tyrosol and caffeic acid.  Both work as anti-inflammatory substances (preventing response to injury) as well as detoxifiers.  One writer described them as “cellular mops, essentially cleaning up and removing hazardous chemicals from the body.”

When tested in mice who were set up to stroke out (so sad), the ones who were ‘penetrated with Champagne extract’ were able to fight off damage significantly and, in fact, completely restored their brain cells with time.  Those who didn’t get a little boozy…vanished.

Not that I needed another excuse…but how great are these findings?!  Now there are more reasons to celebrate when raising a glass.

Salud!

Sites Referenced:

http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/beverages/alcoholic_drinks/health_benefits_of_champagne.html

http://blogcritics.org/scitech/article/champagne-on-the-brain-the-neurologic/