The Health Benefits of Red Wine

The general consensus is that red wine, in moderation, (maximum 2-3 glasses a day, depending on your age, weight, and sex) can impart cardiac benefits, and contribute to overall well-being. But it's more complicated than that. 

Yes, experiments with laboratory animals have shown remarkable benefits for subjects given large doses of resveratrol, the so-called "magic" ingredient in wine. But these experiments were in ideal lab conditions where every variable could be tightly controlled... which is not the case in the reality of day to day human life. 

So we look to the centenarians around the world, like in The Blue Zones Project. Lo and behold, almost all of them drink a couple glasses of red wine per day. However, beyond their modest consumption of red wine, they also have other lifestyle factors that would seem beneficial to wellness. 

Therefore, perhaps the wine is just one ingredient in a larger recipe that includes clean air, close friendships, organic food, and lots of walking and other natural movements. In other words, it's an overall lifestyle rather than one magic ingredient.

The lesson here is avoid reductionist thinking. Resist clinging to any one ingredient, or even any one molecule, whether it's to be embraced (ex. resveratrol) or shunned (ex. gluten). Instead, simply adopt an overall healthy lifestyle, but try not to obsess over it. In any case, sooner or later, more research will become available and science will (rightly) change its mind. 

Further reading:

Wine is Good For You

The Language of Wine

Mediterranean Way of Drinking and Longevity

The Blue Zones Project