Answer
Red wine contains a thousand times less resveratrol than what is needed for your heart health. Besides, alcohol in any form or amount is unhealthy.
The Science
In recent years, drinking red wine has become fashionable because of the health claims that it contains a heart-protective antioxidant called resveratrol.
- Resveratrol has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, heart-protective, and neuroprotective properties.
- Resveratrol improves heart health by expanding blood vessels and reducing blood pressure. It also decreases blood clotting tendency and may help in heart disease, heart attacks and heart failure.
- The amount of resveratrol considered beneficial for the heart and other organs is 1,000 mg a day.
- Red wine contains 0.4 to 2 mg resveratrol a litre. Similarly, red grapes have 0.1 to 1.6 mg of resveratrol per kilogram. Other food items have even lesser amounts. So there is no logical way to get enough resveratrol by consuming any food.
- Some studies show that people who drink one to two glasses of alcohol a day are healthier than non-drinkers. But these are associations and not causations. The two seem to go hand in hand—but they cannot prove that alcohol improves health. For example, people who can afford a drink or two a day may have enough financial means to care for their health compared to the general population.
- Current guidelines say that men and women should not exceed two and one drink a day, respectively.
- The risk of some cancers rises even at less than a single drink (average) daily.
Drink for social and personal reasons, if you wish. But please don’t drink under the false belief that red wines or other alcoholic beverages are healthy.
To Read More
- CDC: Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol
- Harvard School of Public Health: Alcohol: Balancing Risks and Benefits
- On this Website: Is drinking alcohol good for heart disease?
- On this Website: Does alcohol consumption affect blood pressure?
First Published on: 18th May 2023
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