Reasons to Drink Wine

A friend sent me a link to an "article" on Facebook this week. The headline was "Drinking Wine Before Bed Increases Weight Loss," or something along those lines. Although I might wish this to be true, anyone who has done the tiniest amount of research into weight loss knows the truth is quite the opposite.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a glass of wine on occasion. No, I don't consider 7pm daily to be an "occasion" but I do partake now and then. When I traveled to England and France over the summer, I drank wine at every meal. Including breakfast. (Just kidding.) (Barely.) Did I lose weight? Um, no. No, I did not.

If drinking wine doesn't help you lose weight, there MUST be other reasons to imbibe, right? I mean, what about those studies that show resveratrol (an antioxidant present in grape skins and therefore red wine) helps reduce the risk of heart disease? Well, this is actually true. But one would need to drink the equivalent of something like 250 bottles of red wine daily to receive enough resveratrol to make any difference. (I came close while in Europe.)

What about the studies that show French people have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans? This has to be due to their consumption of wine, right? Well, no. There are many differences between the typical French diet and lifestyle vs. the American. The French tend to eat leisurely meals instead of grabbing fast food. The French tend to shop in local markets, consuming more fresh produce than Americans. The French value high quality food and pay more for it, while American tend to value quantity over quality, thus overeating. Stress is a major factor as well.

Okay, if wine doesn't make the pounds fall off our butts and doesn't give us immunity against all disease, why should we continue to drink the stuff? I'll give you some good reasons!

1) Wine tastes yummy. If you are not purchasing crap, wine is delicious.

2) Good wine is available at very good prices, so there is no need to break the bank. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, and it carries wine, this is a great place to find bargains. (Maryland has very stinky laws about who can and cannot sell wine, so our Trader Joe's has none!)

3) Wine makes you feel sophisticated. Like a European rather than an ugly American. Make sure to drink your vino from a lovely stemmed glass, as this will add to your feeling of bourgeois domination. (Never drink wine from a mug! You know who you are!)

4) Wine will not cause gas and belly bloat like beer. (It is impossible to feel sophisticated while chugging beer from an aluminum can.) 

5) Wine is for grown ups. You had to wait a long time to be able to drink wine. There was no wine at the frat parties in college. There is no such thing as a wine bong. Now that you have matured, you deserve some wine.

Enjoy!