Is Red Wine Really Anti-Inflammatory?

Chronic inflammation can do a lot of damage to your body. It increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and accelerated aging.

That’s why it’s important to make healthy lifestyle choices that reduce the risk of inflammation. One thing you can do is increase your intake of anti-inflammatory foods. These foods contain antioxidants that protect your cells from the effects of free radicals.

IS RED WINE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY?

Red wine is an anti-inflammatory food. It contains powerful antioxidants including catechin, resveratrol, proanthocyanidins, and epicatechin. In fact, research has proven that red wine can lower inflammation.

In the study, researchers asked 40 healthy males to take two drinks of red wine or gin a day for 28 days. The results showed that both groups had lower levels of IL-1alpha, which is a marker of inflammation. However, the red wine group had significantly lower levels of inflammatory molecules. 

RED WINE AND INFLAMMATION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Now, before you get too excited and start drinking red wine every night, here are a few things you should know about red wine’s anti-inflammatory properties.

Red wine contains sugar.

If you’re trying to cut back on sugar, drinking red wine every day may not be the way to go. In fact, drinking too much red wine can worsen your inflammation and cause weight gain.

Alcoholic drinks disrupt sleep.

There’s a misconception that alcohol aids sleep. But that’s far from the truth. It only helps you fall asleep but it disrupts deep sleep later at night.

You may want to stay away from red wine before bed if you struggle with insomnia. The benefits of quality deep sleep definitely outweigh those of red wine.

Too much red wine does more harm than good.

The US government recommends one to 1.5 glasses a day for women and one to two glasses a day for men. Anything more than the recommended amount can have negative side effects, like a higher risk of dementia.

For some, one glass may be too much. It can lead to poor choices, like binge eating or binge drinking.

Red wine contains very low amounts of resveratrol.

Most of the benefits of red wine are attributed to compound, resveratrol. Unfortunately, red wine has very low amounts of this compound.

You would have to drink several bottles of red wine a day to get the amount of resveratrol used in animal studies. You’re better off just eating grapes instead.

WILL RED WINE WORK FOR YOU?

While red wine does have anti-inflammatory properties, it may not work for everyone. Consider the points above before you decide to use it to fight inflammation. If you choose to use it, stick to one to two glasses a day and go for one to two days a week without drinking it.

Note that drinking red wine won’t help much if you’re on a high-sugar diet. You need to cut back on sugar first to fight inflammation.