Chilean Red Wines May Be Better
An article seen on EXN.CA says that "Chilean red wines are better than the rest at least when it comes to levels of antioxidants called flavanols that help the body fend off heart problems and cancer. That's according to a research team based at the University of Glasgow in Scotland a far cry from the dry, grape-growing valleys of Chile."
The article goes on to say that "...after testing 65 red wines, "we quickly found that there were large differences from seemingly similar vintages from different geographical origins," says Dr. Alan Crozier, a plant biochemist involved in the research at the University of Glasgow. But despite the lofty reputation of red wines from France, it was Chile that seemed to hold the lion's share of flavonols.
"We found that Chilean wines were particularly rich," Crozier states. "They were higher in flavonols than their equivalents from other parts of the globe." But the 'why' behind this phenomenon is something less obvious."
Crozier and his colleagues plan to pursue the Chilean red wine anomaly further and their research into fruits and vegetables has been helped by a large-scale screening program funded by supermarket giant Safeway in Britain. As for the research to date, Crozier says, "I think the main thing is you can just have a minor change in your diet with a potential to significantly improve your prospects." Over the course of the next year, they hope to have a better handle on why flavonols are expressed better in some foods than others � and provide a more complete list of healthy choices. Until then, Chilean red wine and cherry tomatoes are a safe bet.