Health Benefits of Champagne

Pop open a bottle of Champagne or Sparkling Wine, and you’re in for two treats. First, you get the incredibly fun, celebratory experience of drinking bubbly. Second, you get the health benefits of Champagne. Really? Really!

Wine vs. Bubbly

Most of us know that wine (and alcohol) provides a number of health benefits, including that it lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. So when I started hearing about the additional health benefit of Champagne and Sparkling Wine, I wanted to know if this was just an attempt by the bubbly part of the wine industry to boost their profits – or if there are truly additional benefits that come from the bubbles. It turns out that, in fact, there are additional benefits that are attributed to the fact that Champagne and Sparkling Wine go through secondary fermentation. The bubbles make a difference.

Acknowledging Some Bubbly Websites

For this article, I did quite a bit of research. Here are the sites that I found most useful:

• Break Open the Bubbly
• The five surprising health benefits of champagne
• Cheers To That! 8 Unexpected Benefits Of Champagne
• Champagne and Sparkling Wine Can Be Good for You!

Five Primary Health Benefits of Champagne

Champagne and Sparkling Wine offer these key health benefits:

• Good for memory and spatial awareness
• Good for your heart
• Improves your skin
• Lifts your spirits
• Can help with digestion
• May help your brain

Memory Improvement and Spatial Awareness

Research has shown that certain proteins within Champagne and Sparkling Wine are beneficial for short-term memory. It’s been hypothesized that within three years of imbibing champagne regularly, a person could have an increase of 200% of the memory-boosting protein in their brain.

It was discovered that the red grapes used in Champagne and Sparkling Wine (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) have high levels of phenolics (a colorless crystalline solid and aromatic compound), which help modulate signals in the hippocampus and cortex – parts of the brain associated with memory and learning.

A study was done comparing rats that were given Champagne to rats that weren’t given Champagne. The drinking rats had a 70 percent success rate completing a maze they had been introduced to previously compared to a 50% success rate by the non-drinking rats.

Champagne Is Good for Your Heart

Since Champagne and Sparkling Wine are predominantly made from red grapes, it has the same heart-healthy benefits that red wine has. Champagne and Sparkling Wine also contain polyphenol antioxidants, which further protects the heart by slowing down the removal of nitric acid from the blood, thereby reducing blood pressure. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that when two groups were given either champagne or a different alcoholic control beverage, only the former experienced the slower removal of nitric acid. However, both groups experienced beneficial blood vessel dilation and increased blood flow.

It Can Improve Your Skin

Champagne’s carbon dioxide may help tighten your skin, and its polyphenols may help combat redness. One of the sites I looked at suggested combining one cup powdered milk, one-half cup Epsom salt, one or more cups of Champagne/Sparkling Wine and one tablespoon of honey, warming the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds, and then adding it to a bath. That sounds good to me!

It Lifts Your Spirits

If you’re feeling a little grumpy, Champagne and Sparkling Wine will lift your spirits. They contain natural trace elements that may help boost your mood, and they cause you to release dopamine, the “feel-good” brain chemical that helps you to move around, think positively, and experience pleasure.

It Can Help with Digestion

Champagne may help you digest your food better. A German study found that fermented alcohols, like champagne, can increase gastric acid by as much as 95 percent.

It May Help Your Brain

The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published a study that found three phenolic acids from Champagne and Sparkling Wine – tyrosol, caffeic acid and gallic acid – protect against the damage to your brain that free radicals can cause.

The best news is that research shows that sipping one glass of champagne a week is enough to reap its many health benefits. Cheers to that!

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