<p>I’m 18. Now before anything like, “that’s illegal” is said, I don’t binge, or drink and drive, or any of that stupid stuff. What I want to know is if having a glass of wine with dinner is healthy for the heart, which is what I’ve heard alot. My parents actually encourage drinking a small amount at dinner claiming it’s healthy. Truth? or false.</p>
<p>Neither the American Heart Association nor the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommend that you start drinking alcohol just to prevent heart disease. - mayoclinic.com</p>
<p>A glass of red wine with your parents at dinner isn’t going to upset anyones Doctor.</p>
<p>Actually, the American Heart Association published a study a number of years ago in which it was concluded that drinking a glass of red wine had the same positive blood chemistry benefits as running a mile. Which is no reason to recommend that an 18 year old start drinking a glass of wine with dinner each night. You get the same benefits and more by running that mile (or 2 or 3) or spending 45 minutes on an elliptical machine or some other cardiovascular activity. The salutary “heart healthy” benefit of that glass of red wine is incidental to and certainly not determinative of the question of whether an 18 year old should have a glass of wine at dinner, an issue which has been discussed ad infinitum on another thread in the Parent Cafe.</p>
<p>And new studies show some connection with breast cancer. Drinking wine for health benefits is probably misguided.</p>
<p>[Red</a> wine carries same breast cancer risk as white wine - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/10/healthmag.wine.breast.cancer/index.html]Red”>Red wine carries same breast cancer risk as white wine - CNN.com)</p>
<p>My mom just told me that egg yolk is good for you now, a brand new study. I never listen to any of those studies about what food is good or bad for you. I just do everything in moderation. If you want to have a glass wine with your dinner, just have it, no need to pull out any study to justify it.</p>
<p>What oldfort said… the last sentence, not the egg white part. :D</p>
<p>Well, I have heard that there are many benefits to wine, and my doctor also mentioned it. Go on ScienceDaily.com and search “wine” and you will find a bunch of articles on current research on the subject. Here is one - [Half</a> A Glass Of Wine A Day May Boost Life Expectancy By Five Years](<a href=“http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429205609.htm]Half”>Half A Glass Of Wine A Day May Boost Life Expectancy By Five Years | ScienceDaily)
That said, I’m not encouraging anyone under 21 to start drinking wine. :)</p>
<p>Just be careful and check who sponsors certain studies. If it is a study sponsored by Robert Mondavi estates, I’d be very suspicious about its findings 
I’ve worked with resveratrol-like compounds; they do have some beneficial effects on certain cells in vitro, but the verdict on their effect on human body is still out there. It is quite likely that the antioxidants in red wines and grape juice are good for you, but the problem with modern red wines is that many of them have a high alcohol content (and I have yet to see a study showing that large amounts of alcohol have any beneficial effects).</p>
<p>Moderate drinking helps your lipid profile, but as an 18-year-old, you probably won’t need to worry about it. OTOH, a glass of wine most likely won’t hurt you either.</p>
<p>Actually, any benefit you can get from drinking a glass of wine with dinner has been shown to come from a glass of unsweetened (still very sweet!) grape juice of the red variety, as well. Non-drinkers need not miss out!</p>
<p>^The effects on cholesterol occur with any type of alcohol intake.</p>
<p>All things in moderation. A little of this and a little of that won’t hurt you, and might help. Enjoy the wine.</p>
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<p>[Drinking</a> Your Way to Health? Perhaps Not - Yahoo! News](<a href=“http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091018/hl_hsn/drinkingyourwaytohealthperhapsnot]Drinking”>http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20091018/hl_hsn/drinkingyourwaytohealthperhapsnot)</p>
<p>“All things in moderation. A little of this and a little of that won’t hurt you, and might help. Enjoy the wine.”</p>
<p>Certainly makes sense when it comes to that glass of wine.</p>
<p>The same week that the AHA published the study I referenced, Runner’s World magazine did a report on the best post run/race liquid replenishers and concluded that beer was on the top of the list. Carbohydrate replacement and water for hydration. At the time, I ran fairly regularly, running about 10 -12 miles 4 times a week. Ate up a lot of time outside of the house. Read the 2 articles and told my wife I had a new training regimen. Drink a bottle of wine 4 times a week for the cardiovascular benefits and follow each bottle up with a 6 pack to recover. Gotta watch out for those studies. ;)</p>
<p>It isn’t unhealthy in any major way and if they’re letting you drink some good stuff it is good training for later in life (when you’re 20 girls won’t care if you know how to order a good wine or not, but when you’re 25 some will) so I’d take advantage of the learning opportunity at least. Good beer goes great with many meals also.</p>
<p>All the advice I was thinking about at the top of this page was pretty much covered by someone else. The one thing I’d add is that my doctor told me to consider my family health history in weighing the relative merit of wine for my heart vs. the possible detriment to breast health. For me, a family history of breast cancer means I try to drink wine only once or twice a week. If I had relatives with heart disease or high cholesterol myself, I might approach drinking differently.</p>
<p>OP: New studies suggest that grape juice provides the same health benefits as red wine, so you don’t need to go alcoholic if that’s REALLY your motivation. ;)</p>
<p>I like to think that any health risks of a little alcohol are offset by the psychological benefits. (And I do mean a little.)</p>