Light wine may extend life expectancy

Consumption of light wine, about half a glass a day, over the long term appears to lead to a longer life. Light to moderate alcohol intake has been associated with reduced risk of death from heart diseases, but whether this protective effect can be attributed to a specific type of beverage remains unclear. Moreover, little is known about the effects of long-term alcohol intake on life expectancy. To explore the impact of long-term alcohol intake and types of alcohol beverages consumed on cardiovascular health and life expectancy, researchers randomly selected 1,373 Danish men and repeatedly monitored them between 1960 and 2000 as part of the Zutphen Study. During the 40-year monitoring period, 1,130 men in the study died. The average age at death was 77 years. It was found that long-term light wine consumption was associated with an increase in life expectancy of nearly five years. Independent of total alcohol intake, wine consumption was highly protective. Long-term intake of 2 grams of alcohol from wine per day, on average, increased life expectancy by 2.5 years compared to drinkers of beer or spirits, and by 4.7 years compared to nondrinkers. Drinking more than that decreased the benefit. In the study, 70 percent of wine consumed was red wine. The above findings remained unchanged when the researchers accounted for factors like socioeconomic status, dietary factors and other lifestyle habits. Long-term light alcohol intake lowered cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk and increased life expectancy. Light wine consumption was associated with 5 years longer life expectancy; however, more studies are needed to verify this result.

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