In still another study examining the effects of moderate wine consumption, this time in males, the results indicate that men who consume up to one half glass of wine per day may extend their lives by up to five years; this according to a Dutch study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The study also concluded that males who consume any type of alcohol in what they defined as light to moderate quantities (up to 20g) may gain up to two and one half years of life expectancy. In addition, the potential extended life expectancy is attended by lower risk of death from coronary heart disease and peripheral circulatory insufficiency. These results accounted for socioeconomic status, dietary considerations, and other lifestyle habits. The study, conducted at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, evaluated the lifestyle, including alcohol consumption, of over 1300 men. The researchers then compared the cause of death of over 1100 of the subjects to the men’s alcohol consumption habits. The researchers concluded that daily light to moderate alcohol intake of any type extended life by up to two and one half years compared to males who abstained. Men who consumed up to one half glass of wine daily, lived up to two and one years longer than those who drank alternative alcoholic beverages and nearly five years longer than those who abstained. 70 per cent of the wine consumed was red wine.  While the topic of antioxidants such as phenols and specifically resveratrol was not approched as a possible association in this study, it has been a hot topic of research in association with health benefits.

Tags: alcohol consumption, antioxidant, coronary heart disease, Resveratrol, wine consumption