Wine before bed ‘helps with weight loss’

Drinking wine just before bed helps people to lose weight by burning fat and staving off late-night snacking, according to reports citing studies from two universities.

Resveratrol levels are higher in red wine (Photo: Wiki)

Resveratrol – a substance found particularly in red wine – helps to turn body-hugging white fat into quick-burning beige fat, scientists at Washington State University found.

They tested mice by feeding them a high-fat diet before giving a selection a diet high in resveratrol.

Furthermore, a separate Harvard study of 20,000 people found those who consumed around two glasses of wine per day were 70% less likely to be obese.

Online articles have focused on the late-night aspect of the studies, saying that wine’s impact on fat-burning and craving-reduction is particularly effective before bed.

However, some have criticised press reports for not referencing a paragraph by Professor Min Du, author of the Washington study, which said that resveratrol levels in wine can vary depending on the filtration process.

“Many of the beneficial polyphenols are insoluble and get filtered out during the wine production process,” he said.

But resveratrol’s effect on fat levels was undisputed, with Professor Du saying: “Resveratrol can enhance the conversion of white fat to beige fat and, when you have high rates of browning, it can partially prevent obesity.”