“Red wine is linked to weight loss.”1 Could this be true? Housewives across the country will be flocking to their nearest supermarket, liquor store, and even online (in some states) to grab their favorite bottle of “adult grape juice” guzzling until the pounds melt away. That was a nice little fairytale wasn’t it, but I’m sure you assumed it couldn’t be all true right? Well, you are correct, it’s not 100% true but there may be still be some good news after all!
Wine Folly (an online source claiming they “create wine smarts since 2011”) promotes an article based off an Oregon State University research study dealing with red wine and weight loss. The article states that the study found “a specific type of red wine slowed the growth of fat cells and formation of new fat cells in the liver.”1,2 The particular red wine contains ellagic acid, which comes specifically from one type of grape. This type of grape is known as the Red Muscadine grape and only grows in the southeastern United States and even more so primarily in Georgia. Watch out everyone, Georgia may no longer be known as The Peach State!
The study fed the specific acid to overweight mice, and the results showed an improvement in the mice’s ability to burn fat because of the slower creation of fat cells in the liver. Needless to say it now needs to be tested on humans! Research is also still needed to determine if ellagic acid in wine form still contains these prosing weight loss benefits.
The other problem that the article does a great job of sliding in towards the end is that most wine made from Muscadine grapes is made into sweet wine, therefore negating and health benefits that the acid may have because of the amount of added sugar. Well I guess we can only solve one problem at a time right?
Overall those looking to shed a few pounds should probably stick to the common methods of healthy eating and exercise in order to reach their goal. Although the researchers are trying to “validate the specific contributions of certain foods for health benefits [and weight loss],”1 they are not quite there yet.
While wine is great, seeing that, grapes, or anything as the one stop for weight loss is scary. Weight loss truly comes down to picking and sticking with a good routine. It is not just eat one food or drink a certain drink. Even Dr. Oz was once smart enough to realize that there was no magic pill for weight loss (though he later said there was a Magic Bean, and proved why he should not be a doctor). However, if people can learn to use moderation then they would find out why wine is fine for you. I feel like that is how this needs to be looked at. We as health practitioners need to learn how to push this information in the way that says use this in moderation as part of your regular diet because that is a healthy way to use it rather than this is a magic pill potentially.