advice: should i be worried about 'wine belly'?

according to adrienne ngai , a registered dietitian, nutritionist, healthy eating and weight loss coach, too much alcohol can disrupt your body’s fat burning process.

when it comes to wine, it’s actually not that hard to end up with calorie overload — a five ounce glass of rose, red or white wine with a 12 per cent of alcohol content can contain up to 150 calories per serving — equivalent to eating half a burger. and if you’re drinking wine with higher alcohol content, you’ll end up with more calories.

dietary guidelines suggest that moderate alcohol consumption is up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. seven or more drinks per week is considered excessive or heavy drinking for women, while for men, 15 drinks or more per week is deemed to be excessive or heavy drinking. going above the suggested limits can cause health complications, such as inflammation and scarring of the liver that may be fatal, and lead to certain cancers , including head and neck cancer, esophageal and liver cancer, breast and colon cancer, melanoma, prostate, and pancreatic cancer.

but it’s not all bad news. while excessive drinking can be problematic, enjoying an occasional glass of red wine may be good for your health. red wine tends to be high in resveratrol, epicatechin, catechin and proanthocyanidins — antioxidants that can help protect against heart disease, reduce the risk of dementia and alzheimer’s disease, lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar, improve digestion and symptoms of depression. and by the way, while beer tends to stay out of the health-benefits limelight, a pint has some benefits too in terms of staving off heart disease and cancer.

as a country, we consume a lot of booze — more than 50 per cent above the world average. and since the covid-19 outbreak , new data suggests that canadians are drinking more — about 25 per cent of those surveyed, most of whom were aged 35 to 54, said that their alcohol consumption has increased. boredom, lack of regular schedule and stress seem to be the main drivers of increased alcohol consumption among canadians.