Myth Busted: Drinking Wine Does Not Make You Fat

Have you ever gone on a diet before, or even tried just to “watch what you eat?”  I bet that along the way, you were told to not drink alcohol due to the caloric content.  Well, now you can pour yourself a glass and celebrate your resolve to make healthy lifestyle choices, as science writer Tony Edwards has dispelled the myth that drinking makes you fat.

All across the internet (and at least for now, not on the bottle) you can find the average calories one glass of wine (or beer if that is your preference) contains.  However, nowhere can you find evidence that drinking alcohol makes you put on weight.  Demand evidence, here you go:

• In 1991, Professor Charles S Lieber (non-biased as he was the first to connect a link between alcohol and liver disease) firmly rejected the notion that alcohol has any significant effect on weight
• Also in the 1990s, Harvard University researchers tracked the weight & drinking habits of almost 20,000 women over 13 years.  Of the 9,000 that put on significant weight, none were drinkers. In fact the heaviest drinkers were the skinniest!

Want even better news? Not only did the study show that alcohol is non-fattening, but that is actually helped prevent weight gain:

• Those who drank five grams of alcohol a day reduced their risk of being overweight by 4%
• Those who drank 15 grams a day by 14%
• To flip it, drinking 30 grams a day or more gave the women an incredible 70% reduction in obesity risk

This isn’t the only study of this sort and with these same results as well! One possible conclusion scientists think is that alcohol could actually be increasing the body’s supply of insulin, therefore reducing glucose levels & keeping weight down.

Still need more “scientific proof” as to why to pour yourself a glass (or two) of wine click here!