New research suggests that wine drinkers lead healthier
lifestyles than those who drink beer or martinis, and a beverage of
choice may actually speak volumes about other healthy habits.
New research suggests that wine drinkers lead healthier lifestyles than those who drink beer or martinis, and a beverage of choice may actually speak volumes about other healthy habits.
The study found people who prefer wine ate more fruits and vegetables, had higher fiber intakes and were less likely to smoke compared with nondrinkers or those who drank beer or liquor. Researchers said those behaviors associated with wine drinkers might help explain why previous studies have found that wine drinkers have lower rates of a variety of health problems including cancer, heart disease and stroke.
The researchers said that finding casts doubt on the notion that there might be something special about wine that conveys health benefits that other alcohol beverages do not. Instead, wine drinking may be a sign of an overall healthier lifestyle.
For the study, researchers analyzed diet and health information from a group of about 4,500 men and women who were part of the long-term University of North Carolina Alumni Heart Study. The participants were unique in that they reported a wide variety of beverage preferences (beer, wine, spirits or no preference), but they were also 99 percent white, affluent, highly educated and from the same geographic region.
Researchers said even though the participants were relatively similar in terms of socioeconomic status, they found big differences in dietary habits and other behaviors between wine drinkers and the others. For example, wine drinkers ate fewer servings of red or fried meats and had diets that were lower in cholesterol and saturated fat.
In addition, men and women who drank wine were consistently less likely to smoke and exercised more than nondrinkers or those who preferred other beverages. Nondrinkers were also more likely to have a higher body mass index, a measure of weight in relationship to height used to measure obesity.
Researchers said those differences dispeled a popular belief that higher socioeconomic status alone might be responsible for the better health of wine drinkers.
