Yes, you read that right. Got cramps? Drink some wine. Not just any wine, good red wine will do the trick! Sometimes women experience dysmenorrhea commonly known as menstrual cramps before during their menstrual cycle. Dysmenorrhea is simply defined “as menstrual pains, which sometimes, may be so severe, as to completely cripple the affected woman in every aspect of her daily function” (Rabinerson et al,2018). If you have started your menstrual cycle then you should know that the occasional menstrual cramps come with the territory. The pain or discomfort can range anywhere from low to high depending on several factors like the day of cycle, time and so on. Every females’ cramps may be different from abdominal pains, bloating, constipations, cravings...etcetera. Some lucky few do not experience menstrual cramps. I considered myself one of them until I finally got hit with my first dysmenorrhea experience a few months ago.
I did what any one would do and asked my mother for advice. She told me to drink some red wine, I would feel better. Of course, I did not take her seriously. I was like “Huh? What in the world?”. I expected my mother to tell me to take Advil or Tylenol or something amongst those lines. However, she did not, so I decided to follow up on her advice. I poured myself a glass of red wine and took a nap. When I woke up my discomfort was gone. I was intrigued! So, I decided to learn more about. Turns out “Red wine is associated with significantly higher free T and lower SHBG levels, as well as a significant higher LH level vs. white wine in healthy premenopausal women” (Shufelt et al, 2012). Simply meaning that red wine has high free t and low SHBG levels which is good for females especially during the menstrual cycle. Basically, it makes the body relax more especially when you are on your menstrual cycle. So, there we go. When it’s that time of the month and you start to feel dysmenorrhea kick in consider a glass of red wine.
Balbi C, Musone R, Menditto A, Di Prisco L, Cassese E, D'Ajello M, Ambrosio D, Cardone1 A. Influence of menstrual factors and dietary habits on menstrual pain in adolescence age. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2000 Aug;91(2):143-8. doi: 10.1016/s0301-2115(99)00277-8. PMID: 10869786.
Rabinerson D, Hiersch L, Gabbay-Ben-Ziv R. [DYSMENORRHEA - ITS PREVALENCE, CAUSES, INFLUENCE ON THE AFFECTED WOMEN AND POSSIBLE TREATMENTS]. Harefuah. 2018 Feb;157(2):91-94. Hebrew. PMID: 29484863.
Shufelt C, Merz CN, Yang Y, Kirschner J, Polk D, Stanczyk F, Paul-Labrador M, Braunstein GD. Red versus white wine as a nutritional aromatase inhibitor in premenopausal women: a pilot study. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2012 Mar;21(3):281-4. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2011.3001. Epub 2011 Dec 7. PMID: 22150098; PMCID: PMC3298670.
Brittney, your post was so interesting to read. I am a huge fan of red wine and to know that there are benefits to drinking it, makes me so happy!
ReplyDeleteAfter doing some research, I found an article that assessed the benefits of red wine consumption in regards to cardiovascular health. This particular study found that light to moderate alcohol consumption might be associated with higher levels of HDL, lower incidences of type II diabetes, and a reduction of lipid oxidative stress (Castaldo et al., 2019). Red wine is known to have high concentrations of polyphenolic compounds like flavonoids, resveratrol, and tannins, which could be cardioprotective against certain atherosclerotic pathologies (Castaldo et al., 2019). It is hypothesized that red wine could play a role in lipid homeostasis by increasing plasma HDL and lowering glucose levels. Additionally, wine polyphenols are known to react with reactive nitrogen species (RNS) or to interfere with RNS production (Castaldo et al., 2019). Therefore, red wine may act as an antioxidant and as a result, decrease oxidized LDL plasma levels and increase plasma nitric oxide concentration. All of this to say that red wine may have more health benefits than we think!
Cheers to that!
Castaldo, L., Narváez, A., Izzo, L., Graziani, G., Gaspari, A., Di Minno, G., & Ritieni, A. (2019). Red Wine Consumption and Cardiovascular Health. Molecules, 24(19), 3626. doi:10.3390/molecules24193626
I loved reading about this! I am a huge fan of red wine, especially with a little dark chocolate. After reading your blog, I wondered what other health benefits are listed for red wine. Katie discussed how red wine is beneficial to cardiac health, and I wanted to expand on more of the health benefits!
ReplyDeleteI found an article that discusses the benefits of red wine, not for cardiovascular health or pain relief, but for the microbiota! Like Katie mentioned from her article, red wine is known to have high levels of polyphenols. The researchers in the article that I found focused mainly on single polyphenol molecules and select bacterial populations to evaluate the effect of a moderate intake of red wine polyphenols on select microbial groups implicated in host health benefits (Queipo-Ortuno et al., 2012).
The researchers took 10 healthy male volunteers who underwent a randomized, crossover, and controlled intervention study, and after a washout period, they were given red wine for approximately 20 days each (Queipo-Ortuno et al., 2012). Fecal samples were obtained and run through with PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, which allowed researchers to monitor and quantify changes in the microbiota. From the results of this study, we see that the daily consumption of red wine polyphenol for about 4 weeks significantly increased the amount of various bacteria in our microbiota, suggesting possible prebiotic benefits associated with the inclusion of red wine polyphenols in the diet (Queipo-Ortuno et al., 2012). In addition, blood pressures and triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and changes in C-reactive protein concentrations were linked to changes in the bifidobacterial, one of the bacteria affected by red wine polyphenol consumption (Queipo-Ortuno et al., 2012). So, in addition to the health benefits of red wine previously discussed, now we have one more reason to keep drinking our red wines!
Queipo-Ortuño, M. I., Boto-Ordóñez, M., Murri, M., Gomez-Zumaquero, J. M., Clemente-Postigo, M., Estruch, R., Cardona Diaz, F., Andrés-Lacueva, C., & Tinahones, F. J. (2012). Influence of red wine polyphenols and ethanol on the gut microbiota ecology and biochemical biomarkers. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 95(6), 1323–1334. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.111.027847