Drinking wine to get thinner? Disregard it.

Rumor：
Drinking wine can help you lose weight. New research in the United States has found that wine can inhibit the formation of fat cells and therefore help with weight loss.

Truth：
The studies mentioned here do exist, but the conclusions that can be drawn from them are still quite far from "wine for weight loss". Drinking wine to lose weight is not a good idea either.

"Wine for weight loss" is a misinterpretation of the original study
The study mentioned here was done by researchers at Oregon State University, who extracted four natural compounds from the round-leaf grape (muscadine grape) and studied them in vitro in the lab using human liver cells and fat cells. It was found that one of these extracts, ellagic acid, slowed the growth of adipocytes and inhibited adipocyte regeneration, while it also enhanced fatty acid metabolism in liver cells. The researchers also conducted tests on mice and analyzed their adipose tissue and found that ellagic acid inhibited the production of adipocytes in the liver. Therefore, the researchers speculate that ellagic acid may be beneficial in inhibiting fat metabolism, and the study was published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

As seen in the paper, the researchers simply found that a grape extract (ellagic acid) had an inhibitory effect on fat metabolism, and thus hypothesized that it might help with weight loss. This study was only conducted in in vitro cellular and animal experiments and is far from human application. Moreover, the ellagic acid content of wine is not high, and even if it is eventually proven that ellagic acid does have a weight loss effect, it does not mean that drinking wine will allow a person to consume enough ellagic acid to produce the effect.

Drinking to lose weight is not reliable
Is it possible that drinking alcohol has a positive effect on weight control? There are indeed some studies in this area, although their conclusions are also still very controversial.

One of the earliest studies found that women who drank small amounts of alcohol had lower rates of obesity. A study that began in 1976 analyzed women's diets and weight together and found that small amounts of alcohol consumption were significantly and negatively associated with women's weight. 1991 they published another study that found that women who drank small amounts of alcohol had a 15% lower body mass index (BMI) than non-drinkers. 2010 saw a study that followed women of healthy weight for up to 12 years The results found that women who drank small amounts of alcohol (no more than 30 grams of alcohol per day, about one or two 50-proof white wines) had less weight gain and a lower incidence of obesity compared to non-drinkers. However, the study investigated normal weight people and did not investigate people who were overweight themselves, so the results have been questioned. Furthermore, while an association between small amounts of alcohol consumption and body weight was found in the female population, no such results were found in the male population. Both the 1991 study mentioned above and the 2003 survey of more than 7,600 men showed no correlation between small amounts of alcohol consumption and body weight in men.

From the current data, there is not enough evidence that drinking helps people lose weight, although a few studies have found a lower incidence of obesity in women who drink small amounts of alcohol.

Drinking alcohol may make people gain weight instead
It is important to note that the evidence for "drinking to lose weight" is not only insufficient, but also likely to be counterproductive. Many studies have found that heavy drinkers tend to be heavier and have a higher incidence of obesity. For example, the 2003 study mentioned above found that men who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol per day gained the most weight and had the highest BMI, and in 2013, a meta-analysis synthesized past studies and concluded that heavy drinking (more than 30 grams of alcohol per day, or more than three servings of alcohol) increased body weight and promoted weight gain [7].

The negative effects of alcohol consumption on body weight are associated with several factors.

First, alcohol also contains energy. The ethanol in alcohol can be converted into acetic acid, which enters the tricarboxylic acid cycle and is converted into ATP, the energy available to cells. although the conversion of alcohol into energy in the human body is not very efficient, after all, it accumulates and cannot be ignored.

Secondly, alcohol can weaken the body's fat metabolism. Our body can store many nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, but not alcohol, which is quickly metabolized and consumed after drinking. Studies have found that the rate at which people consume fat in the body drops significantly after drinking, and it's not hard to understand why, because the body first has to metabolize the energy from alcohol. Just like you had a lot of things on hand to deal with (fat consumption), this time, suddenly someone gives you an urgent matter must be dealt with as soon as possible (drinking), you will have to deal with the urgent matter first in order to deal with other things at hand. One study found that after drinking two glasses of vodka the metabolic rate of body fat will be reduced by 70%. The fat that should be consumed is not consumed, it adds to the amount of fat stored in the body.

In addition, drinking will also increase appetite, so that people unknowingly eat more "alcohol" food. People who have drunk alcohol should have experienced, the more high the wine, the stronger the appetite will be. For example, when drinking, you will like to eat some peanuts, barbecue, many people say that this is because this kind of small dish good "wine", in fact, is to drink after the appetite increased. Studies have found that when people eat, if they drink, they tend to eat more, and, these "wine" food is often more unhealthy than the usual meal. This can also further increase energy intake and promote weight gain.

In general, "drinking to lose weight" has no reliable effect, and it is likely to promote weight gain in turn, so do not use the "diet" excuse to drink.

Small amounts of alcohol can carry health risks
The health effects of alcohol consumption are multifaceted, and while small amounts of alcohol seem to show some benefit in some studies, it is important to emphasize that even small amounts of alcohol can pose health risks, and it is not recommended that people deliberately drink alcohol for some "benefit.

Numerous studies have found that even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, larynx, breast and other cancers. The risk of these diseases will continue to increase if more alcohol is consumed. For example, if you consume 50 grams of alcohol per day (roughly equivalent to 2 taels of 50-proof white wine), the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancers will increase by 2.1 times, the risk of esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer and primary hypertension will increase by about double, breast cancer by 55%, cirrhosis of the liver by 6.1 times, chronic pancreatitis by 78%, hemorrhagic stroke by 82%, and liver cancer by 40%.

Moreover, in practice, the "amount" of so-called "moderate drinking" is actually very difficult to grasp. The amount of alcohol consumed is not easy to estimate accurately, and it is easy to drink too much if you are not careful. Given this situation, drinking should not be used as a way to lose weight or for "health".

Conclusion：
"Drinking wine to lose weight" is an over-interpretation of research findings, and there is no conclusive evidence that wine or other alcohol can help with weight loss. On the contrary, alcohol consumption may make people fatter and pose other health risks.

@successgr.with @zzan