When I did my semester abroad in Paris, I learned the secret of a long, healthy life from the 80-year-old-woman who was hosting me: a daily glass of red wine.
The cardiovascular benefits of wine have always been evident to me. But last week I wrote about being a social smoker, and this week this article on lung cancer and its relationship to wine caught my attention. It claims that smokers who drink one or two glasses of wine are less likely to develop lung cancer than those who don’t.
In the article though, the National Cancer Institute is quoted saying,
Some studies suggest that alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of some risk of some non-cancer health conditions. However, it is not recommended that anyone begin drinking or drink more frequently on the basis of health considerations.
I personally don’t see drinking a glass of red wine a day as “alcohol consumption,” but I do understand the need to clear up misconceptions. Drinking is obviously not going to solve cancer or cardiovascular disease but it can help prevent it. I would recommend drinking wine as a replacement of any other alcohol you drink on a regular basis. I know beer drinking is embedded in American culture, but after thinking about the overall heart disease rate of Americans versus the French I would start vouching for wine.
