A glass of wine could make you slimmer

Do you enjoy a glass of wine in the evening to help you unwind? Well this little treat could help you keep off those unwanted pounds!

Wine - Health News - Marie Claire
Wine - Health News - Marie Claire
(Image credit: Rex Features)

Do you enjoy a glass of wine in the evening to help you unwind? Well this little treat could help you keep off those unwanted pounds!

Often like a glass of wine to relax in the evening? Well good news girls, as it has been reported that treating yourself to a glass of red could in fact help you keep those pounds off.

New research has revealed that those who regularly consume a glass or two of alcohol a day are less likely to gain weight than those who stick to water or soft drinks.

These new findings come after a 13-year study monitoring the weight of over 19,000 American women, in relation to their drinking habits. It was discovered that those who declared themselves as teetotal gained the most inches while those who drank ‘moderate' amounts stayed the slimmest.

One theory behind these results, reported on Times Online, is that calories from alcohol have less impact than calories from food. It is suggested that livers of regular drinkers develop a different method to breaking down alcohol, with excess energy converting mainly into heat rather than fat.

However don't think that extra shot of alcohol on a night out will help to shift those few extra pounds as beer and spirits have been linked to the highest weight gain. Instead research shows that red wine is the healthiest option.

Not only could it help you stay trim, but red wine has in the past been linked to other health benefits including boosting blood flow to the brain and cutting the risk of heart disease.

Now doesn't a glass of Merlot sound more inviting than a punishing gym session!

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Natalia Lubomirski
Natalia is a health journalist with 14 years experience in the publishing industry. She has worked for a number of well known magazines and websites including Marie Claire, Woman&Home, Top Sante, Boots and The Telegraph.  She likes to think she practices what she preaches when it comes to health and fitness. Her athletic prowess began early. A keen fencer for 13 years, she wielded an epée for Olympic Team GB during her teenage years. She likes to think she made sword-fighting cool before Game of Thrones came along! While working on her sporting performance with the team, she also participated in a lot of nutrition and psychology training, When it comes to time off, you’ll most likely find her up a mountain somewhere. It seems holidays have become a time for climbing several thousand feet, rather than chilling out. She’s now hiked eight of the major mountain ranges across four continents – including the Appalachians, the Smokies, the Sierra Nevadas (she spent her honeymoon hiking to the top of Half Dome), as well as hitting the summits of Snowdon, Pen-Y-Fan (Brecon Beacons), Table Mountain in South Africa, the Blue Mountains in Australia and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. She’s also passionate about all things health, particularly vaccinations, and will happily jump on her soap box at any given opportunity to talk about their benefits to anyone who will listen!