Is a glass of wine with dinner good for the heart and longevity? Experts reveal

The holiday season is here, and for many, this means elaborate feasts, countless social gatherings, and a glass of wine, or another alcoholic beverage, to wrap up the celebrations.

We have heard it numerous times: a glass of wine with dinner will help you live longer and healthier. This common belief has been passed down from one generation to the next. While some say this indulgence is great for the heart, others argue that it also helps people live longer. But is it true?

Is moderate drinking good for health?

A 2016 study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs looked at a common doubt: whether moderate drinking is really good for health. The researchers noted that the scientific evidence behind this popular assumption is shaky at best.

Most people assume that moderate drinking is linked to health benefits such as better heart health and a longer life. But is it true? The researchers analysed 87 studies and found that such claims are flawed, and that the benefits of drinking are minimal to none, even with moderate consumption.

So why does some research point towards supposed health benefits? This is because of how these studies defined ‘abstainers’. According to Tim Stockwell, PhD, the lead researcher on the analysis, studies have often compared moderate drinkers (people who have up to two drinks per day) with ‘current’ abstainers. The problem is that this abstainer group can include people in poor health who have cut out alcohol.

“A fundamental question is, who are these moderate drinkers being compared against?” Stockwell, director of the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research in British Columbia, Canada, asked.

His team corrected these abstainer ‘biases’ and some other study-design issues, and found that moderate drinkers had no longevity benefits. Before these corrections, it was the ‘occasional drinkers’ — those who had less than one drink per week — who lived the longest.

Is wine consumption good for the heart?

Now the million-dollar question: is red wine really good for your heart? You may want to hear this before prescribing yourselves a glass or two a day. The American Heart Association points out that no research has established a cause-and-effect link between drinking alcohol and better heart health. In fact, these studies have only found an association between wine and benefits such as a lower risk of dying from heart disease. Dr Robert Kloner, chief science officer and director of cardiovascular research at Huntington Medical Research Institutes, states that it is unclear whether red wine is directly linked to such benefits or whether other factors are at play. “It might be that wine drinkers are more likely to have a healthier lifestyle and a healthier diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, which is known to be cardioprotective,” he said.

People often link red wine to good heart health because of its antioxidants, such as resveratrol, found in the skin of grapes. Some studies suggest that this antioxidant can reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure. “There’s a debate about whether resveratrol is really cardioprotective or not. In addition, there is debate about the amount of resveratrol you would need to ingest to get a protective effect. To get the equivalent amount of resveratrol that has been reported to be protective would probably mean ingesting an excess of wine,” Kloner said.

However, the AHA and other federal agencies recommend drinking in moderation, if you consume alcohol. This means one or two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. One drink is 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits, or 1 ounce of 100-proof spirits, as per the AHA.

However, according to the World Health Organization,no level of alcohol consumption is safe for health. In fact, alcohol was classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago. The agency noted that the latest available data indicate that half of all alcohol-attributable cancers in the WHO European Region are caused by ‘light’ and ‘moderate’ alcohol consumption. This is less than 1.5 litres of wine, less than 3.5 litres of beer, or less than 450 millilitres of spirits per week.

In short, alcohol consumption, even wine, may not provide any health benefits. It may only contribute to poor health and lead to cardiovascular disease and liver disease.

Note: The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting any new medication or treatment, or before changing your diet or supplement regimen.