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Your choice of wine can benefit your health in different ways, study finds

22 April 2022 By Eloise Feilden

Drinking red or white wine is better for your health than beer or spirits, but your choice of wine may benefit you in different ways, a recent study by Iowa State University found.

Researchers in Iowa found that drinking beer or spirits leads to higher levels of visceral fat, which can increase the risk of heart disease and other health issues.

Visceral fat, unlike subcutaneous fat which builds up underneath the skin, wraps around the internal organs, making it more harmful and challenging to get rid of.

The study found that wine consumption did not lead to the same build up of visceral fat. Consumption of red wine in adult participants was actually shown to reduce visceral fat, driven by reduced inflammation and elevated lipoproteins – proteins considered to be good cholesterol.

Of the 1,869 white study participants, 59% of those tested were men, and ages ranged from 40 to 80 years old.

While red wine was linked to lower visceral fat, white wine was connected to a different health benefit – higher bone density.

“We found higher bone mineral density among older adults who drank white wine in moderation in our study. And we did not find this same link between beer or red wine consumption and bone mineral density,” Brittany Larsen, Iowa State University PhD candidate and co-author of the study, wrote in The Conversation.

Ageing is accompanied by an increase in the visceral fat that can lead to heightened cardiovascular disease risk, and by a reduction in bone mineral density. The study found that red and white wine could help to tackle both of these issues, with important health implications for the population.

“Alcohol has long been considered one possible driving factor for the obesity epidemic. Yet the public often hears conflicting information about the potential risks and benefits of alcohol. Therefore, we hoped to help untangle some of these factors through our research,” Larsen added.

One way in which the researchers intend to do this, is by looking at different types of alcohol and their effects on health.

Larsen says: “Much of the previous research has traditionally treated alcohol as a single entity rather than separately measuring the effects of beer, cider, red wine, white wine, Champagne and spirits.”

The researchers aim to continue their analysis of alcohol’s effects on human health. Their next step is to examine how diet – including alcohol consumption – influences diseases of the brain and cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

To learn more about the nutritional benefits of red wine, click here.

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