According to the study, alcohol-free wine offers the same benefits for heart health as its alcoholic counterpart
At the British Science Festival, Dr. Rudolph Schutte of Anglia Ruskin University presented his findings. He thinks his research disproves the theory that drinking in moderation can lower the risk of heart disease.
Scientific research has established an “undeniable protective and beneficial relationship” between red and white wine and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, according to Schutte. It’s important to note that “[this] relationship is also seen for alcohol-free wine,” which “suggests the benefits are thanks to the polyphenols in the wine rather than the alcohol,” as he put it.
Several studies have shown that polyphenols are good for you, and a nutrition professor recently made headlines by suggesting that the polyphenols in red wine may aid in calorie burning.
The UK Biobank project was the focal point of Shutte’s studies; it included nearly 450,000 people whose habits and health were monitored for seven years.
Participants in the study were 40% less likely to get coronary heart disease if they drank moderate amounts of wine.
But even a 10% increase in risk was found with even moderate consumption of beer, cider, or spirits.
Current guidelines in the UK suggest no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. Schutte equated this to “about nine glasses of 125-ml wine or 14 single measures of spirits.” That’s seven pints of regular beer.
However, our results demonstrate that even moderate alcohol consumption has negative effects on health.
He is also not sure about studies that say moderate drinkers have fewer health risks than people who don’t drink at all.
“A group of non-drinkers will include individuals who abstain from alcohol due to various pre-existing health reasons, making this reference group surprisingly high risk,” he said.
If you compare a group of light to moderate drinkers to this “risky” group of non-drinkers, you might come to the wrong conclusion that alcohol is good for your health.