To Your Health © lynette sheppard
I love a glass (or two) of wine in the evening. But I’ve felt a little guilty – I mean all those extra calories. I was sure they flew right to my hips, thighs, and buttocks. At 125 calories a glass, it adds up. I already have sufficient padding, thank you very much.
Now I’ve consoled myself (read rationalized) that the health benefits of wine balanced out the caloric devilment. I loved that wine decreased my risk of heart disease, provided antioxidant anti-aging resveratrol, not to mention offering significant psychological benefits of mellowing me out after a stressful day. But never in my wildest dreams did I conceive of wine as a weight loss adjunct.
Oh happy day! Three recent studies show that regular wine intake can prevent obesity and may even help women lose weight.
Harvard University studied 20,000 women over 13 years and found that those who drank two glasses of wine per day were 70% less likely to develop obesity than their non-imbibing counterparts.
A University College Medical School of London study of 43,500 female participants over eight years found that those who drank a couple of glasses on a daily basis were 24% less likely to put on weight compared to those who abstained from alcohol.
Finally, our own CDC conducted a study on wine intake. Of the sample size of 7,230 people, the drinkers gained less weight than non-drinkers. Conclusion: alcohol intake does not increase the risk of obesity.
And if that isn’t enough incentive to drink your wine, another study found that red wine increases HDL – the good cholesterol in your body AND can improve type-2 diabetes thanks to its ability to metabolize simple sugars into energy.
Why does this work especially well for women? Apparently, enzymes required to break down and use wine are present in lesser quantities in women than men. So we may actually use more calories to metabolize the wine than we are taking in.
OK, ladies. Join me in a toast to science, wine, and weight loss tonight!
