A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away. Could this be true? WebMD talks to experts to learn how we can get the health benefits of wine or alcohol while keeping our weight in check. Do Like the French? The French diet is often used as an example of how wine can improve heart health. The French have a fairly high-fat diet but their heart disease risk is relatively low. And some have attributed this to red wine. But there are so many differences between the lifestyle of the French and Americans from their activity levels to the foods they eat. You cannot isolate red wine as the magic bullet for disease prevention says Alice Lichtenstein, DrS, Gershoff Professor at Tufts University. Choose whichever alcoholic beverage you enjoy, drink it in moderation and try to have it with meals, advise Lichtenstein and Eric Rimm, DrS, a Harvard researcher. Arthur Agatston, MD, cardiologist and creator of the popular South Beach diet, encourages patients who enjoy alcohol to also drink it with meals.

"Alcohol can stimulate the appetite so it is better to drink it with food. When alcohol is mixed with food, it can slow the stomach's emptying time and potentially decrease the amount of food consumed at the meal," asserts Agatston. His alcohol of choice is red wine due to the antioxidant resveratrol. However, he agrees that any alcohol in limited quantity will provide the same health benefit. There is a misperception that red wine is abundant in antioxidants. "It does contain some, but they are not always well absorbed. If you want antioxidants, you are better off eating a spinach salad with vegetables than drinking a glass of red wine," Rimm tells WebMD. Alcohol also can have a very powerful effect and increase HDL "good" cholesterol by 20% if used moderately and in the context of a healthy diet along with regular physical activity, says Rimm. Higher HDL levels are linked to lower risks of heart disease. "The research evidence points to ethanol, or the alcohol component, of beer, wine, or spirits as the substrate that can help lower cholesterol levels, increase 'good' HDL cholesterol," he says.

A recent study shows a boost in brain power for women who enjoy a little alcohol. The study, published in the Jan. 20 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, evaluated more than 12,000 women aged 70-81. Moderate drinkers scored better than teetotalers on tests of mental function. Researchers found a boost in brainpower with one drink a day. Moderate drinkers had a 23% reduced risk of mental decline compared with nondrinkers.wine on tap new york With Alcohol, Moderation Is Key: Easy Does Itwine and beer shop south campus Just as you shouldn't eat a 12-ounce steak daily, you need to watch your portion sizes of alcohol as well.what is considered the best wine ever What is one drink?high end wine los angeles

5 ounces of wine 12 ounces of beer 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits, such as vodka The 2005 Dietary Guidelines 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend one drink a day for women and two a day for men. This doesn't mean to can save them up for a weekend party and expect to get the same benefits. Will a Drink a Day Make You Fat? A drink a day may help keep your brain sharp and heart healthy but what about the calories?sweet red wine sold at olive garden Alcohol supplies calories with few essential nutrients. best french wine cheapIf you drink alcohol, it needs to be budgeted into "discretionary calories" to maintain a healthy weight according to the 2005 dietary guidelines.top wine brands of india "Most Americans are sedentary, putting them into the lower calorie levels, leaving little room for alcohol, sweets, and extra fats," states Theresa Nicklas, DrPH, a member of the dietary guidelines advisory committee.wine of fire united states

It is more important and healthful to select foods packed with nutrients, such as fruits and vegetables, rather than alcohol when calories are limited. The health benefits of moderate alcohol do not outweigh the risks of being overweight or obese, says Nicklas. An individual on an 1,800-calorie level eating plan only has 195 discretionary calories or the equivalent of a 9-ounce glass of wine or a small dessert. best winery near houstonIf you want dessert along with your daily allotment of alcohol, you need to increase physical activity to balance your calories to achieve a healthy weight, according to Nicklas. A little may be good but too much alcohol can lead to serious problems. No one should start drinking if they don't already drink, advise Lichtenstein and Agatston. It is well known that alcohol can lead to numerous health problems for many individuals, such as pregnant women and women at high risk for breast cancer (alcohol raises the risk of breast cancer).

Individuals with family histories of alcohol abuse should also not drink, says Lichtenstein. To gain the benefits of good health, do your part to enjoy your one to two drinks per day at mealtime and follow the advice of the dietary guidelines for food, fitness, and weight management.Health effects of red wine: Where do we standChat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.JUST WATCHEDReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHStory highlightsCurrent research says it's safe for most people to have a glass of red wine every dayWhile there are likely some heart health and other benefits, there are risks, tooThe story of red wine's effect on cancer and dementia is cloudier -- some studies found it increased the risks, other studies suggested a decrease. The most recent addition to the research found that people who drink red wine had a higher risk of cancers that are related to alcohol consumption, such as breast and liver. But the rub with all these studies is that people who drink red wine, or any kind of alcohol, might be different from non drinkers in other ways, such as diet, exercise level and smoking status.3000 B.C.: Wine is the best medicineMillennia before Jesus turned water into wine, the ancient Egyptians turned wine into medicine.

Researchers found a jar in the tomb of King Scorpion I dating back to 3150 B.C. that contained traces of wine along with residue from balm, coriander, sage and mint. The finding suggests that ancient Egyptians dissolved herbs in wine, and then drank the cocktail to treat stomach problems, herpes and other ailments.750 B.C.: Wine does not pair well with womanhood400 B.C.: Hippocrates prescribes red wine for digestion1250: Sip some grog to clear your mental fogHundreds of years before studies suggesting that red wine may help protect against the common cold, Arnaldus de Villa Nova, a physician in southern France, detailed how wine can help sinus problems. De Villa Nova was also ahead of his time in writing about the benefit of wine for dementia. Current research supports the possibility that red wine in moderation could reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.1850: Don't drink the water, drink the wine instead1920: Beware the evils of vino1988: Migraine sufferers, put down your glassAll of you who complain that red wine gives you migraines got some vindication from science.

A small 1988 study in London found that nine out of 11 people with this complaint did indeed develop a migraine within a few hours of sipping a Spanish red, whereas another eight people served vodka with lemonade remained migraine free. Both beverages were served chilled and in a dark bottle to disguise their identity. The authors of the study concluded that alcohol on its own is not to blame, and that ingredients in red wine such as flavonoids could precipitate the debilitating headaches.1992: The French secret to heart health? Red wine, bien sûr!In the early 1990s, the French paradox made headlines, and forever more (at least, so far) put red wine in a healthy light. Doctors described the paradox that the French had lower death rates from heart disease in the 1980s than countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, even though they had similar rates of smoking, blood pressure and other risk factors. The doctors suggested the reason could be that the copious amounts of wine -- in particular, red wine -- protects from heart disease.

Many have questioned whether red wine deserved credit back then for lowering heart disease deaths. For one thing, the French actually had less fatty diets in the decades before the 1980s than the UK, which could have been what brought down death rates. But even if the role of red wine in the French paradox was overhyped, other studies in the 1980s and 1990s backed up the link between red wine and increased levels of good cholesterol and antioxidants. 1995: Drink to your longevityDanish researchers found that, among 6,000 men and 7,000 women, those who drank three to five glasses of wine a day had a 49% lower rate of death over a 10-year period. Drinking the same amount of beer was not associated with lower death rate, and three to five glasses of hard alcohol increased the death rate by 34%. The researchers did not look at lifestyle factors, though, so it is possible that wine drinkers live longer because they eat healthier or exercise more, for example2005: Can red wine put a cork in prostate cancer?2007: Smile: Red wine fights cavities2013: Men, liquoring up may help your libido but hurt your fertility2015: Does the next Alzheimer's treatment hang on a vine?2015