| RESEARCH |
Armagnac helps foil blood clots Nicholas Moore at the University of Bordeaux, in France, finds that drinking the grape-based brandy Armagnac in moderation helps to prevent blood clots. Armagnac is produced in southwestern France, where the French Paradox is most prominent. The French Paradox features a relatively low cardiovascular mortality rate among people whose habits would appear to dictate otherwise. Armagnac acts something like aspirin in helping to reduce clotting, say Moore and his colleagues. They attribute its effect to its high content of antioxidant-rich tannins (polyphenols). Armagnac is aged at least several years, much longer than red wine and many distilled spirits, in barrels made of a rare type of black oak. Moore says, "Our research suggests that natural chemicals from tannins, which are highly concentrated in Armagnac, can be beneficial to heart and circulatory health." People in southwestern France drink more Armagnac than people elsewhere, but not more wine, and live, on average, two years longer than people in other parts of France. Armagnac's medicinal properties have long been recognized, according to the Bureau of Armagnac. In 1313, for example, Cardinal Vital Dufour specified 40 health-related properties of the brandy in a book now housed in the archives of the Vatican. The brandy is produced on small estates in Gascony immortalized in the Alexandre Dumas novel "The Three Musketeers." |
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