The Truth About Red Wine's Health Benefits

A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away!
NNOooooope don't care what the scientists say, I'm just gonna keep onnnnn drinkin. Hey everyone, Laci Green here for DNews. Red
wine: it's got super powers right? It can fight cancer, inflammation, heart disease!
This is thought to be because of 2 key components in wine: 1, the antioxidants, and 2, the ethanol
alcohol itself. Red wine does have SOME antioxidants in it, in particular an antioxidant called
"resveratrol" (which is also found in dark chocolate).

Resveratrol has been widely tested
in lab animals, and scientists found that it improved animals' heart function, ability
to use insulin, and that it may also provide some protective effects against diabetes and
obesity. In humans, however, the benefits of resveratrol hadn't been tested....Until
now. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine
monitored the resveratrol metabolites in the urine of almost 800 Italians over the course
of 9 years. They found that more resveratrol didn't actually translate into lower rates
of cancer, heart disease, or risk of death.

Womp, womp. The conclusion? It probably isn't
the antioxidants doing the trick. The lead researcher at Harvard said that the reason
the benefits may have been seen in lab animals and not humans is that it is almost impossible
for a human to consume the AMOUNT of resveratrol given to the animals in the study. In order
to consume the same amount, a human would have to drink 1000 Liters of red wine EVERY...DAY...Which
will send you on a nice little trip to your grave.

Fun fact, the resveratrol health craze has
created a 30 million dollar industry selling resveratrol supplements. There's no data on
how well they work, but scientists have noted that, like most supplements, your body probably
can't absorb the antioxidants in supplement form. Which means, you're better off eating
lots of greens, beans, and berries than drinking a glass of wine or taking an antioxidant supplement. So this research doesn't mean that wine isn't
a heart healthy option -- there are still many studies demonstrating wine's ability
to raise good cholesterol, lower bad cholesterol, and protect the arteries from damage.

What
we're learning is that it may just be the case that antioxidants aren't the reason why
the wine helps. It could be because of a different polyphenolic antioxidant in the wine, or from
the ethanol. There's already been some research suggesting that it's small amounts of alcohol
that could be doing the trick, in which case, it's not necessarily red wine alone that can
provide the protective benefits. It could be any kind of alcohol! And MAYBE we see the
effect with wine drinkers particularly because the serving size is small enough.

We'll keep you updated if we see anymore studies
about alcohol and your heart health. Thanks for joining me for DNews, I'll see you next
time!.