Just in time for our New Year's celebrations (click here if you still don't know where to bring in 2010), research out of the University of Reading in the United Kingdom suggests that two glasses of champagne per day could improve your heart and your circulation.
Like red wine, tea, blueberries, olive oil and other so-called "super foods," champagne (and other sparkling wines like cava and prosecco) contains polyphenols, which appear to slow down the natural removal of nitric oxide, a vascular active molecule which controls blood pressure. Got that? Basically, the polyphenols lead to higher nitric oxide levels in blood, which can increase blood flow and decrease blood pressure and the likelihood of blood clots forming, reducing your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
This discovery builds on the medical recommendation that two glasses of red wine are beneficial to the heart and circulatory system, though white wine has not been shown to offer similar benefits.
Like you needed a reason to break into the bubbly.
via The Daily Mail