asking for a friend: red wine is good for you, right?

research in gastroenterology in 2019, for example, revealed that people who drank red wine had a greater diversity of good bacteria in their guts which is linked to stronger immunity, weight management and food digestion, than those who didn’t drink red wine. the researchers also found that drinking red wine just once every two weeks was sufficient to see the positive effect.

is resveratrol good for me?

alcohol use is widely associated with increased risk of numerous cancers , but the resveratrol in red wine has been hyped as good for the body. resveratrol is the plant compound from the grape skins that acts like a health-protective antioxidant.

studies have shown that drinking red wine moderately could reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer , but on the other hand, a meta-analysis in  cancer causes & control   determined that women who drank alcohol  had an 11 per cent higher likelihood than non-drinkers to get breast cancer.

dr. chi-ming chow, a cardiologist at st. michael’s hospital in toronto and spokesperson for heart and stroke foundation , says he’s often asked at social events with non-medical colleagues, friends and family to validate their alcohol intake.

the recommendation from most countries, including canada, is women shouldn’t consume more than two drinks a day and men should limit themselves to no more than three drinks a day “can be quite excessive,” he cautions, pointing to world health organization calls to reduce harmful use of alcohol.

no amount of alcohol is safe

“red wine has more benefit than other alcohol types, such as whiskey, white wine or other things. so if you have to choose a drink, red wine would be better, but specific evidence that it’s better is actually quite scanty .”