Wine may extend life | PerthNow

Drinking wine may help you live longer.

Researchers who studied 340,000 Britons found that wine drinkers appeared to have a lower risk of dying young than those who drank beer, cider or spirits.

A 13-year study led by experts at Central South University in Changsha, China, suggests that your drink choice can make a surprising difference to your health.

While binge drinking is generally bad news (it increases the risk of premature death by 24 percent), the type of alcohol consumed appears to matter if intake is low.

Even small amounts of beer, cider or spirits were linked to a higher risk of premature death compared to non-drinkers.

But the wine stood out from the crowd.

People who drank a modest glass of alcohol were found to live longer than both non-drinkers and those who liked other alcoholic beverages.

In fact, their risk of dying from heart disease was 21 percent lower than among drinkers; Those who drank beer saw their risk increase by 9 percent.

Study author Dr Zhangling Chen said: “These findings highlight that the health risks of alcohol depend not only on the amount of alcohol consumed, but also on the type of drink.

“Even low to moderate consumption of spirits, beer or cider, is linked to higher mortality, while low to moderate consumption of wine may carry lower risk.”

Its benefits can be put down to polyphenols, which are antioxidants found in grapes, especially red wine.

These compounds have been linked to lower blood pressure, better cholesterol and better gut health.

Dr Chen also pointed out that wine is often consumed with meals, while beer and alcoholic beverages are more likely to be consumed with unhealthy snacks or late at night.

Drinks expert Helena Nicklin added: “While we can never say there is such a thing as the ‘healthiest’ type of alcohol, we can certainly count it as the least bad.

“Red wine contains small amounts of resveratrol, which has been loosely linked to heart health and anti-inflammatory properties.”