In Reasons Rebecca Rose is Probably Unkillable By Conventional Means, scientists have found that a regular glass of either red or white wine with dinner can help you live longer by staving off heart disease. Hold up, though, there are caveats I couldn’t fit in the headline.
It’s important to note that the glass of wine with dinner was only part of what the Czech scientists found — the other aspect is that this only applies to people who get regular exercise (it’s a synergy benefit between the two activities), so wine isn’t doing anything to help my fat ass.
The methodology of the study, conducted at Olomouc University Hospital over the course of a year and presented at the European Society of Cardiology, was as follows:
The Czech study on alcohol tracked 146 people with a mild to moderate risk of heart disease.
Half were instructed to drink red wine (Pinot Noir) and half to drink white wine (Chardonnay-Pinot) in moderate quantities, for one year. This meant men could have 300ml – about two small glasses – while women could have 200ml – just more than a medium glass – up to five times a week.
What they found was that while there was no change in cholesterol levels among those who did not exercise, a sub-group of individuals who exercised at least twice a week showed a noticeable rise in positive HDL cholesterol and a drop in overall cholesterol — a greater rise/drop than those who exercised but did not drink wine. Again, red and white wine produced the exact same results.
There have been prior studies that indicated red wine could help stave off heart disease due to antioxidants and polyphenols. This is the first time there have been comparisons on a long-term study involving both red and white wine, however.
So…wine for everyone! And also exercise more.
Image via Markus Mainka/Shutterstock.