Red Wine, Women, & Weight: What You Need to Know

You might have heard about a recent study suggesting that moderate alcohol consumption may help prevent weight gain. This study in the Archives of Internal Medicine─which surveyed nearly 20,000 American women age 38 and older─is the result of careful, credible research at the renowned Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. In fact, the female subjects were followed for over 12 years before the conclusions were drawn: “Compared with nondrinkers, initially normal-weight women who consumed a light to moderate amount of alcohol gained less weight and had a lower risk of becoming overweight and/or obese during 12.9 years of follow-up.”1

It’s worth noting that although the study found "an inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese for all four types of alcoholic beverages─red wine, white wine, beer and liquor─the strongest association was found for red wine.” The link between white wine and weight loss was “weak yet significant.” As interesting as this news is, we have to bear in mind that all alcoholic beverages are high-calorie, with a greater density at 7 calories per gram than either protein or carbs, both at 4 calories per gram. Fat still remains the highest source of calories at 9 calories per gram.

We're likely to agree that many factors played into this research. For example, women who consume red wine in moderation may also be more balanced in other areas of their lives, which would help keep weight in check. Also, many women tend to substitute alcohol for other potentially high-carb foods, whereas when men consume alcohol, they often add those calories to what they're normally eating. Additionally, women metabolize alcohol differently than men do.

The reality, as many of us know too well, is that after age 40, women are more prone to weight gain for several reasons─including changes in hormones and metabolic rate─so the more we can learn about lifestyle management choices that keep us healthy and trim, the better. Again, it’s not the good red wine alone, but the lifestyle you build around it. A votre santé!

1 Arch Intern Med. 2010;170(5):453-461

Red Wine & Lung Health

If you’re not a smoker, you may not think much about lung health. And yet, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States today. Even non-smokers are frequently exposed to environmental toxins like air pollution from vehicle smog, cigarette smoke, allergens, and other irritants. Did you know that ongoing exposure to these harmful substances can increase your chances of developing lung cancer, bronchitis and other respiratory ailments over time? So, how can you protect yourself, besides avoiding second hand smoke and pollution in general whenever possible?

Well, you probably know that regular, vigorous aerobic exercise tones and strengthens your lungs, not to mention benefiting you in many other ways. There are also antioxidant-rich food choices that go a long way towards preventing lung health issues, which include fruits, vegetables and─believe it or not─red wine. It turns out that resveratrol─a potent antioxidant found in red wine─inhibits several types of cancer, including lung cancer. But resveratrol is not a one-man show, which is why taking a pill will never yield the exact benefits of a whole food substance like red wine. In this case, resveratrol operates in concert with its analog pterostilbene to inhibit lung cancer cell growth.1

Several studies have demonstrated a positive effect of moderate wine consumption on pulmonary (lung) health and considerable research in Scandinavia, Europe and South America has suggested a protective effect of wine consumption against lung cancer, especially adenocarcinoma.2 Another study was undertaken to estimate the effect of wine consumption, both overall and by type of wine, on the risk of developing lung cancer. While a slight but significant benefit was observed with white wine consumption, red wine offered much greater protection, with each daily glass having an inverse association with the development of lung cancer.3

On another lung health note, did you know that an estimated 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, with 250,000 annual deaths attributed to the disease?4Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways, and the current focus in managing asthma is the control of inflammation. It turns out that resveratrol has the ability to suppress some of the worst asthma symptoms, operating much like dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid drug used as a positive control. These results suggest that resveratrol may be helpful in treating bronchial asthma, among its other lung health benefits. Stay tuned for more information on red wine and asthma. Meanwhile, here’s to your (lung) health!

1 J Surg Res. 2009 Jul 21 [Epub ahead of print]
2 Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc. 2006;117:129-45
3 Thorax. 2004 Nov;59(11):981-5
4 World Health Organization. Global surveillance, prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases: a comprehensive approach, 2007
5 Int Immunopharmacol. 2009 Apr;9(4):418-24. Epub 2009 Feb 8