THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON CHAMPAGNE
I've always maintained that something tasting this good has GOT to be good for you. Thank you, science!
At Buckingham Palace champagne is an everyday occasion for Queen Elizabeth.... apparently (1). That's the case at my modest palace anyway. It's good to know that science is backing us to break open the bubbly. For you beginners, champagne is a very special wine that ferments not just once (when the sugars turn into alcohol, like in wine), but twice (when bubbles form in the bottle). And that’s when the fun starts.
Here's why champagne is not just for celebrations, but for your health, too. Honest!
Champagne Boosts Your Mood
You know the happy feeling you get from the first sip of champagne? That's the boost of magnesium, potassium, and zinc that releases dopamine, the “feel-good” brain chemical that helps you to experience pleasure.
Champagne Improves Spatial Memory
An 2013 study at the University of Reading (2) found that the phenolic acid in champagne improved spatial memory in their very happy lab rats. In case you've forgotten, spatial memory helps you to remember things like where you left the keys.
A single glass of champagne imparts a feeling of exhilaration; a bottle produces the opposite. –Winston Churchill
Champagne Improves Digestion
With a tally of just eighty, a single flute of champagne contains far fewer calories than any cocktail including still wines. Plus, the bubbles give you satiety and help with digestion. A German study (3) showed that fermented beverages, specifically champagne improved digestion by a whopping 95% over non-fermented alcohol like vodka. Go champagne!
Champagne is Good for Your Heart
They say Queen Elizabeth has a glass of champagne every night. She (the royal She) might not know that polyphenols, the micronutrients in champagne help to prevent damage to blood vessels and help to reduce bad cholesterol (4). Champagne also increases the availability of nitric oxide, the compound that relaxes your blood vessels and lowers your blood pressure.
Champagne is Good for Your Brain
You won't remember their names — tyrosol, caffeic acid and gallic acid — but they're the three phenolic acids in champagne that help to protect your brain against free radical damage. It's just not me singing their praises, this news is from a study at the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (5).
You get all these benefits even if you only drink a small amount of champagne. Say, a glass a night. (To pick a random example!)