To Your Health: Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate National Drink Wine Day

National Drink Wine Day was created to celebrate healthy drinking so I thought it would be a good time to list 10 reasons why wine is good for health and longevity. Each of these is well established by peer-reviewed studies, and I have included a reference for those wanting more detail. In no particular order, here are a few of my favorites:

1. Wine drinkers are smart. A study from Denmark found a strong correlation of IQ to preference for wine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16185206

2. Wine drinkers live longer. Daily moderate consumption of wine is associated with longer average lifespan as compared to nondrinkers and beer or spirits drinkers. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11576317

3. Wine helps prevent diabetes and is good for diabetics. http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/63/1/31.long

4. Wine drinkers are less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease. Many studies show a strong correlation of moderate red wine consumption and better cognitive function with age. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4030174/

5. Wine drinkers have a higher quality of life, particularly in old age. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26797806

6. Wine is good for bone health and is associated with lower odds of osteoporosis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25832032

7. Although the role of wine and cancer is controversial, especially for breast cancer, overall cancer deaths are lower in wine drinkers. As with other things it is a J-shaped curve. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15134372

8. Smile! Wine is good for dental health and helps prevent cavities. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17547418

9. Red wine drinkers have fewer colds and flu. The same is true to a lesser extent for white wine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11978590

10. Oh and the “French Paradox” heart health thing. This one is so well documented that I am not including a reference, but the next time you hear a report saying something like “…some studies suggest that wine lowers the risk of heart attack” I would suggest that you send this list to the reporter.

This is of course a very incomplete list and all of these things are based on the model of daily moderate consumption. So every day should be drink wine day!

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