In 1991, journalist Morley Safer filmed a segment for 60 Minutes at a bistro in Lyon, France, wine glass in hand. He ordered pig’s head pâté, black pudding and foie gras. Then he set the stage for the so-called “French Paradox”: If the French have been feasting on fats and imbibing alcohol for ages, why don’t they experience higher levels of heart disease? Should Americans be following a French diet? These are questions we’re still asking today, over 30 years later.
Wine and wellness have been intertwined throughout history. Hippocrates prescribed wine as a wound dressing, a diuretic and as a “nourishing dietary beverage.” The Han Dynasty Chinese physician Hua To used both hashish and wine to induce narcosis before surgery. Jessica Sculley, the director of Commonwealth Wine Schools, recalls her Italian mother-in-law cutting water with wine to prevent water-borne diseases.
As the era of modern science came about, research often supported the notion that wine and health go hand in hand. Academic studies offered the idea that a glass of red is good for your heart. The History of Wine and Medicine, a book from the academic publisher Cambridge Scholars (not affiliated with Cambridge University), called wine the “Thinking Person’s Health Drink.”
But wine’s health halo is fading. Last year, the World Health Organization declared that no amount of alcohol is safe for consumption.
All this leaves drinkers questioning—are hangovers wine’s only health concern? Should drinkers abstain or should they order another round? There’s a long and a short answer here.
Is a Glass of Wine a Day Good for You?
The short of it is, wine is alcohol. Alcohol is a known carcinogen and consumption comes with risks.
The long answer depends on who you ask—compelling arguments can currently be made on both sides.
Many scientists, health advocacy groups and government bodies underline sobering recent research that alcohol is riskier than we’ve been led to believe. Drinking has links to being carcinogenic, neurotoxic to the brain and is thought to be a strong cause of both cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. Many are calling wine the new tobacco. Even French health officials are telling their countrymen to drink less wine.
However, there’s a camp that will say alcohol is a stress reducer, socializer and relaxer. “There are many studies that say drinking a glass of wine a day could have positive results,” says Dr. Laura Catena, a former emergency room doctor and now the managing director of the winery Catena Zapata.
Studies have linked a glass of red wine with longevity and lowering risk of heart disease and even aiding dementia treatment; others have found that everyday wine consumption may prevent chronic diseases. A study published in 2000 stated that people who drank moderately—from one to seven drinks per week—had “significant reductions in risk of death” compared to those who abstained from alcohol.
These results are conflicting, largely because of flawed research. “At this moment, it’s impossible to thoroughly say a glass is bad for you,” Catena says. “But that’s mainly because we’ve never seen a randomized control study done. There isn’t a gold-standard study that answers these questions.” Other experts agree.
“These studies are pervading the field of alcohol epidemiology and confusing communications about health risks,” says Dr. Tim Stockwell, a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.
Very few studies take into account lifetime habits—many ask questions about current drinking habits, but fail to consider the drinking that has occurred over their entire life.
“A good study would make sure they’ve got lifetime abstainers versus continuing drinkers,” Stockwell says. “It wouldn’t start in late-middle age or old age—it would start earlier and follow people for a long period of time.”
