How’s that New Year’s resolution to lose weight working out for you? Maybe you shouldn’t have participated in a “dry January” because in addition toΒ improving your sex life, helping your heart, extending your life, and makingΒ your daughter’sΒ thousandth viewing of FrozenΒ more bearable,Β wine might also help youΒ shed excess pounds.

Red wine contains substances that help reduce risk of diabetes

Red wine can help reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and alzheimers.

Drowning bad habits

A quick look at the Last Bottle crew confirms just how integral wine is to sculptingΒ a killerΒ beachΒ body, but since we don’t have any recent photos you’ll just have to trust us. And besides, other people have reported similar effects.

An article in the Daily Mail profiled four women who claim that drinking wine helps keep their weight downΒ and curb bad eating habits. One of them was Linda Monk,Β a 47-year-old woman who says sheΒ lost six pounds in three weeks. She credits using wine as a “bedtime snack” to satiate cravings for “sweets, biscuits, and chocolate”.

But doesn’t a glass of wine have the same calories as a slice of cake?

While people fret over the calories in a glass of wine, it’s not so bad when compared to other choices.

carbs-in-wine-and-alcoholic-drinks

Turns out wine isn’t such a bad choice compared to other alcoholic drinks (Via winefolly.com/update/carbs-in-wine)

Studies on top of studies

Maybe you don’t fully subscribe to someΒ anecdotes from British housewives and you’re thinking these winos will come up with anything to justify their habits. However, there’s plenty ofΒ legit science supporting these claims.

AΒ Washington State University studyΒ pinsΒ resveratrol as the compound responsibleΒ for most of the reported benefits.Β Scientists gave mice amounts of resveratrol equivalent to humans consuming 12 ounces of fruit per day. They found that despite a high fat diet, the mice gained 40% less weight than animals not fed resveratrol.

“Drinking two medium glasses of wine a day or more gave the women an incredible 70 per cent reduction in obesity risk.”

Professor Min Du, from Washington State Univesity, US, said: “Polyphenols in fruit, including resveratrol, increase gene expression that enhances the oxidation of dietary fats so the body won’t be overloaded. They convert white fat into beige fat which burns lipids (fats) off as heat, helping to keep the body in balance and prevent obesity and metabolic dysfunction. We are using resveratrol as a representative for all the polyphenols.”

In layman’s terms, resveratrol prevents fat cells from getting fatter.

Now yourΒ inner skeptic isΒ thinking, “sure, another so-called study supporting some new diet fad…”. We get it. But this wasn’t some fly by night study. It was very comprehensive by all accounts, takingΒ place over 13 years and involvingΒ 20,000 participants .

Ellagic acid
Resveratrol often takes credit for positive effects, but another important compound is ellagic acid, which slows the growth of fat cells. It’s found in any oak-aged wines as “ellagitannin” and the amount of elagitannin increases with each year of oak aging.

Still,Β the hallmark of a valid hypothesisΒ is others who get the same results, and in this case we have plenty of supporting evidence.

  • A six-year study of 43,500 people by the University of Denmark concluded infrequent drinkers ended up with the biggest waistlines, daily drinkers had the smallest.
  • Harvard University researchers tracked the weight & drinking habits of almost 20,000 women over 13 years.Β  Of the 9,000 that put on significant weight, none were drinkers. Surprisingly,Β the heaviest drinkers were the skinniest!
  • An eight-year study of 49,300 women by University College Medical School, London found women who drank below 30 grams a day (around two medium glasses of wine) were up to 24 per cent less likely to put on weight thanΒ non-drinkers.
  • A ten-year study of 7,230 people by the U.S. National Center for Disease Control found drinkers gained less weight than non-drinkers. Alcohol intake did not increase the risk of obesity
  • A 2014 study in The Journal of Nutritional BiochemistryΒ found rats that drank red wine gained less weight than ones that drank water. It turns out red wine’s ellargic acids may slowΒ the growth of fat cells.

The psychological effect

Scientists are good at attributingΒ most of the benefits to fancy sounding organic compounds, but we think there’s something to be said of our own willpower. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg explains how our self-controlΒ decreases as the day goes on, making it harder to resistΒ that late night snack. The trick is to identify what triggers the habit, and substitute a less harmful replacement that still rewards theΒ pleasure center in yourΒ brain. In this case, theyΒ trade sweets for a glass of wine, and since wine contains small amounts of sugar, it gives your brain that reward.

So go forth and pour a glass or two, but be careful! Going fromΒ aΒ chocoholic to an alcoholic won’t do you much good. In moderation however, you can include regular wine consumption asΒ part of your health routine.

References

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/new-book-claims-that-nightly-glass-of-wine-wont-go-straight-to-the-hips/story-fneuzkvr-1226768698384
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11689799/Revealed-How-to-lose-weight-drink-plenty-of-red-wine.html

The Reality About Carbs in Wine


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3075931/How-wine-help-lose-weight-defies-conventional-wisdom-women-insist-nightly-glass-red-keeps-slim-experts-say-right.html