While the consensus on wine is polarizing, researchers do say that drinking it in moderation is not bad for you. In general, moderate wine consumption for healthy adults means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men. One drink is equal to five fluid ounces (148 mL) of wine.
Going further, there are pros and cons to drinking a glass of wine regularly, such as:
Advantages
- Reduced risk of heart disease: Drinking wine can help reduce this risk; however, if you consume too much, it can actually increase your risk for heart issues. So, enjoy it in moderation.
- Reduced signs of aging: Wine, especially red wine, contains antioxidants that can slow the aging process.
- Improve brain function: Studies have shown that drinking wine in moderation may prevent mental illness due to the presence of a compound called resveratrol.
- Natural sunscreen: Certain substances, called flavonoids, found in red wine may protect against sun damage.
Disadvantages
- Ruins your sleep: Alcohol in wine may disrupt your rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and can leave you feeling exhausted.
- Derails your diet: Wine is high in calories and can change the way your metabolism works. In fact, regularly drinking wine in excess can add an inch to your waistline.
- Stress you out: Even though that glass of wine might seem relaxing, it actually increases cortisol and can create an overabundance of bad thoughts.
- Increases cancer risk: If you are drinking excessively, you are at a higher risk for breast and lung cancer.
- Enhances existing conditions: If you are already struggling with a condition, drinking alcohol regularly has the power to make it even worse, whether that condition is migraines, depression or something else.
How much alcohol can I drink every day?
Moderate alcohol consumption means an average of one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women, although different types of beer, wine and liquor have varying amounts of alcohol.
In general, a drink of alcohol is considered as:
- One 12-ounce regular beer
- Five ounces of wine
- 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits (such as bourbon, vodka or gin)
Drinking too much alcohol increases your risk of many health problems, including high blood pressure, obesity, stroke, breast cancer, liver disease, depression, suicide, accidents, alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
Does drinking every day make me an alcoholic?
According to studies, having a drink or two every night is not an absolute indication you are headed for trouble. There is truly little data about one or two drinks negatively impacting your health or hastening your decline into alcoholism. Nonetheless, drinking alcohol every day may increase your risk for alcohol-related health issues.
To be sure that a drinking problem does not sneak up on you, watch for the following warning signs:
- Needing to consume alcohol to cope with difficulties
- Often drinking more than you intended
- Need for drinking to relax
- Feelings of guilt or shame about your drinking
- Lying about or hiding your drinking habits
- “Blacking out” or forgetting what happened while you were drinking
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol and Public Health. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm
Murray K. Are You Drinking Too Much Wine? Alcohol Rehab Guide. https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/blog/are-you-drinking-too-much-wine/
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