Those trying to lose weight are generally told to avoid alcohol, due to its high calorie content. However scientists from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston in the U.S have claimed that women who drink moderate amounts of wine are less likely to gain weight than those who stick to mineral water.
Studying data provided by over 19,000 women the scientists discovered over 13 years, all the women tended to gain weight but the 37% of respondents who said they never drank tended to gain the most weight.
The women’s weight also went up or down according to which alcohol they preferred, with those drinking red wine gaining the most weight and those choosing beer and spirits putting on the most.
The results from the study suggest that calories from alcohol are less detrimental to weight than those in other foods. It also could mean that our body’s mechanism for digesting alcohol is more complex than scientists previously realised.
Some researchers have posited the theory that people who regularly drink alcohol will see their liver’s develop a separate pathway to break down alcohol, turning excess energy into heat rather than fat.
The report has been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. To celebrate its publication, I will be opening a bottle of Merlot, safe in the knowledge that with every slug I’m getting thinner.