A little wine and sunshine for a clean bill of health

Wine and sunshine ... how does that sound for a prescription for health? Just right, say researchers from the University of Barcelona, who evaluated the effects of moderate consumption -- two glasses a day -- of red and white wine in 35 nonsmoking Spanish women with an average age of 38.

Researchers found that after a four-week period of regular wine consumption, the data showed an increased HDL ("good") cholesterol level in the women, demonstrating yet another mechanism by which both red and white wine help prevent heart disease. As for the sunshine part of the doctor's orders for health, higher levels of circulating vitamin D was associated with longer telomere length -- bioindicators for aging (and the longer the telomere, the lower levels of inflammation a person has), say researchers from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The full details of both studies can be found in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.