Some of us may have enjoyed a nice cold refreshing drink over the holidays…and i’m not talking about soda or water. I’m talking about an alcoholic beverage (if you’re of age of course.) Personally if you aren’t of age I do not see any problem with enjoying an alcoholic drink in the comfort of your own home. Some of us like to watch what we put into our bodies and an alcoholic beverage could be one of them. But is there a specific type of alcohol that is best for your health? I decided to look at both wine and beer.
You can argue that beer has more vitamins than wine or other spirits. You can also argue that wine drinkers refer to a term called the “French Paradox.” This term means that the French are proven to have a lower rate of deaths when it comes to heart disease even though they are known to smoke more, are proven to exercise at a lower rate than Americans, and indulge in the nasty foods that most of us consume in a fast food joint.
In 2000 a study was done by Danish scientists that compared both wine and beer drinkers. Danish scientists concluded that the risk of cancer was proven to be more likely found in beer drinkers than wine drinkers. The risk of getting a stroke and even death was shown to be higher in beer drinkers as well. These may be true but I have problems with this study because the individuals diet was not taken into account and the everyday life of the individuals also plays a role as well and I think that is important. I stumbled onto another study that was conducted in Germany involving 300 patients.
What makes this study more convincing is that these individuals had heart disease and wrote down just how much they were consuming. German studies showed that those who consumed beer whether abusing it or drinking it in moderate amounts, displayed a lower risk of getting heart disease. However a 2006 study that also took place in Denmark showed that wine drinkers are known to eat better. Over six months the beer and wine drinkers were tracked in supermarkets adding up to 98 supermarkets. As for the results they showed that wine drinkers make more beneficial and healthier choices when it comes to eating. Examples included the purchasing of vegetables and other healthy items. Beer drinkers went down a different road showing they bought more fatty foods like soda and chips.
The 2006 study took into account the diet of these participants which I believe is most important. A 2001 study conducted in the Czech Republic showed that vitamin B6 is found to be most common in beer which is used to fight heart disease. Also if you are looking to obtain a good beach body light beer is very low in calories and the price of beer is much cheaper than wine. What I just mentioned regarding the cost means that since wine is more expensive the drinkers of wine are believed to be more wealthy thus resulting in a healthier lifestyle. It seems as if the winner is wine but I found that different studies showed different results so there is really no clear winner in my opinion. Always remember though that excessive amounts of any alcohol is not good to your health and there are plenty of other ways to live a healthier lifestyle without the use of alcohol.
http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_nutrition/page7.htm
http://www.focused-on-fitness.com/health/wine-vs-beer.php
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/beer-vs-wine-which-drink-should-you-order.html
I really enjoyed reading your post, I’ve always heard that drinking wine was healthy, but I’ve never heard of the health benefits associated with drinking beer. However in one of our past pop quizzes in class I remember reading an article claiming that men who drink beer have a much higher risk of getting stomach cancer. From what I have heard, red wine seems to have the most benefits of any other alcoholic drink. In this article Mayo Clinic explains the most common theories supporting the red wine healthy heart claim. It says that red wine contains an antioxidant called polyphenols that could help protect the lining of blood vessels found in the heart. Resveratrol, a polyphenol, found in red wine is also beneficial to the heart because it is known to help prevent damage of blood vessels, as well as reducing lipoprotein cholesterol and blood clots. However, researchers denote that these effects have only been shown through studies done on animals, so there is no proven reason why wine can be advantageous to human health.