How amazing would it be if you could skip the cardio and reach for a glass of wine to lose weight?
As it turns out, you may actually be able to do that. OK, not exactly replace exercise, but there’s good reason to believe that drinking wine in moderation could support your weight loss efforts.
What the Science Says
The biggest study on the subject of wine and weight loss comes from Harvard, and it looked at a cohort of almost 20,000 women over 13 years.
The upshot?
Women who drank a glass of wine regularly over the aforementioned period were 70% less likely to gain weight.
That incredible statistic aside, there’s a compound in red wine that has gained high standing in certain circles recently. Resveratrol is a polyphenol present in red wine with myriad purported health benefits.
The benefit you might care about most right now, however, is its ability to reduce the accumulation of fat in humans. Some studies also suggest resveratrol can help transform the stubborn fat in your midsection into easier-to-access fat.
On top of that, it has been linked to appetite suppression and protects your skin from damage.
But There’s a Caveat
So resveratrol is pretty great, check. Let’s break out the red wine and indulge.
Wait. Not so fast.
Most of the studies into the effects of resveratrol have been done on mice, so they’re not conclusive. And red wine contains very little resveratrol. You’d need to drink far more than is safe for a human to consume.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t help.
Red wine in moderation also helps promote blood flow and increased levels of two fat-burning hormones, adiponectin and free testosterone.
The key, however, is moderation. It’s easy to go from helping to harming, especially with alcohol.
