Drink Wine, Lose Weight & Improve Heart Health

In 2007, Marie Claire magazine created a diet called the Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Diet.

Their idea was that if we Americans ate like the French, we'd be skinnier. They proved their point, or at least, supported it, with an experiment wherein an American woman lost 4 lbs. following the aforementioned diet and the French woman gained five eating our fast or processed food.

The diet involves about 500 calories for breakfast, 500 calories for lunch and 600 calories for dinner. Here's a sample menu for one day, found at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/247532_eater09.html...

Breakfast: One croissant and fresh fruit.

Lunch: A grilled goat cheese sandwich with a balsamic heirloom tomato salad.

Dinner: Merlot filet mignon with pommes puree.

In case you missed it, dinner is basically steak and mashed potatoes. But, for me, the best part of the meal is that you can have a glass of wine or champagne with dinner or a piece of chocolate for dessert.

I'd choose the wine!

The recommendation is that you make each meal special, and that you use real, natural, gourmet ingredients. Butter, not margarine. A croissant, not a plain piece of bread. This way, you get to really enjoy and savor each bite, as the French seem to do.

Moderate exercise is encouraged, and of course, you should check with a health professional before making major changes in diet or exercise level.

But the good news is that in addition to losing weight while you savor each bite, a glass of wine each night, especially red wine, may improve heart health.

Wine has chemical ingredients that are believed to act like anti-oxidants in our bodies, which means they help prevent free radicals from damaging our bodies. Other research indicates that red wine may help lower the risk of heart disease and help to prevent other illnesses, as well.

So what I take away from all this is: eat less but eat well and have a glass of wine!