I have heard it for a long time. Drinking a glass of wine a day is really good for you. But why? I have searched and found.

Yes, it is true wine (red and white) is very good for your body. However, contrary to what college students want to believe, it is all in moderation and not consuming as much as possible.

I can remember attending a party not long ago with a friend of mine and another friend who had been newly health conscience and seriously dieting, came running up to us completely smashed. I questioned him about his diet and he proceeded to tell me that alcohol is really good for you, so the more you drink, the better off he was. I honestly have no idea if he was serious or just trying to make a joke out of his obviously poor judgement. But, I remember thinking to myself, wow keep making up excuses my friend.

Wine has been found to raise good cholesterol, improve cardiovascular health, lower the risk of heart disease, reduce the risk of some cancers, and slow the progression of some disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

To reap the benefits of wine here is the general rule of thumb to follow:

  • Men should not drink more than 2 glasses of wine per day
  • Women should not drink more than 1 glass of wine per day

Just to put it out there, 1 glass of wine is 5 ounces and there are 5 servings in a 750 mL bottle of wine. This doesn’t leave us a lot to enjoy. So, it must be learned to solely look forward to that one glass and let that be your treat for the day.  If you want to read an interesting article on the Mediterranean Effect phenomenon check it out here. Basically, this is a radio/science interview that discusses the French’s terrible eating habits, but are still in good health, presumably because of their red wine consumption.

There is even a red wine diet that was released in September 2007. I don’t really hear much about it right now, so I am not sure how long this stuck around or how many people it affected. Wine (and every other kind of alcohol) contains a lot of calories that turn to fat in the abdomen, this is not fun to look at, but it is something I am definitely taking into consideration with spring break coming up rapidly.