Wine Drinkers Eat Healthier Foods Than Beer Drinkers
Copyright 2006 Daily News Central
Drinking wine is believed to provide greater health benefits
than drinking beer. The additional benefits may be due in part
to an associated healthier diet, researchers theorize.
Wine drinkers eat more olives, fresh fruits and vegetables, low
fat dairy products, poultry and lean cuts of meat, according to
a recent study. Beer drinkers were found to eat more pre-cooked
packaged foods, sugar, chips, soft-drinks, cold cuts, sausages
and fattier cuts of meat.
Shopping Habits Studied
Food and alcohol shopping habits were investigated by a team
from the National Institute of Public Health in Denmark.
Researchers analyzed 3.5 million transactions, chosen at random
from 98 outlets of two major Danish supermarket chains over a
six month period. They evaluated the link between the purchase
of beer and wine together with various food items.
Customers were categorized as "wine only," "beer only," "mixed,"
or "non-alcohol" buyers. Details of items bought, the number and
price of the items, and the total charge for each customer's
transaction were recorded.
Wine Buyers Purchase Healthier Foods
The results indicate that people who buy and presumably drink
wine purchase a greater number of healthy food items than those
who buy beer, according to the authors. Wine buyers purchased
more fresh, low-fat foods, while beer buyers bought more
processed, high-fat foods.
The study results also support findings from the United States
and France that indicate wine drinkers tend to eat more fruit,
vegetables and fish -- and less saturated fat -- than persons
who prefer other alcoholic drinks.
Other Lifestyle Factors
The health benefits of drinking wine may be due to a combination
of specific substances in wine and different characteristics of
people, researchers add.
Thus, it is crucial that studies on the relationship between
alcohol intake and mortality adjust for other lifestyle factors
besides eating habits, including drinking patterns, smoking,
physical activity, education and income.
The Meditteranean Diet
If you want to enjoy a longer life, eat a Mediterranean diet:
lots of vegetables, legumes, fruits and cereals, along with
plenty of fish. Keep your intake of saturated fats low but your
consumption of olive oil high. Avoid dairy products and meat --
and enjoy that glass of wine now and then.
Elderly Europeans who eat that way enjoy longer life expectancy,
according to another study published online by the BMJ last
year. The evidence suggests that such a diet may be beneficial
to health.
Lower Death Rate
That study involved over 74,000 healthy men and women, aged 60
or more, living in nine European countries. Information on diet,
lifestyle, medical history, smoking, physical activity levels
and other relevant factors was recorded. Adherence to a modified
Mediterranean diet was measured using a recognized scoring scale.
A higher dietary score was associated with a lower overall death
rate. A two point increase corresponded to an 8 percent
reduction in mortality, while a three or four point increase was
associated with a reduction of total mortality by 11 percent or
14 percent respectively.
So, for example, a healthy man aged 60 who adheres well to the
diet (dietary score of 6-9) can expect to live about one year
longer than a man of the same age who does not adhere to the
diet.
Plant Foods, Unsaturated Fats
The association was strongest in Greece and Spain, probably
because people in those countries follow a genuinely
Mediterranean diet, according to the authors.
Adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet, which relies on plant
foods and unsaturated fats, is associated with a significantly
longer life expectancy, and may be particularly appropriate for
elderly people, who represent a rapidly increasing group in
Europe, they concluded.