THE BOTTOM LINE ON WINE
It’s true that wine contains the heart-healthy antioxidants resveratrol and
quercetin. A glass a day is A-OK (but wait until after you’ve finished the
21-Day Plan). One study in the European Heart Journal found that women
in their forties, fifties, and sixties who drank seven servings of wine, beer,
or liquor every week had a 16 percent lower risk of heart failure. But you
can get those same disease-fighters in food, too. Resveratrol is found in
blueberries, cranberries, grapes, peanuts, pistachios, and cocoa. And you’ll
tap into quercetin when you eat apples, blackberries, citrus fruits, dark
cherries, grapes, onions, parsley, sage, and black tea and green tea.
Go smaller with your wineglasses and you may drink less. It’s a trick of
the eyes: Pour the same amount into small and large glasses, and it looks
like less in the bigger ones—which leads people to sip faster and refill
more. In fact, one study found that a pub served 9 percent more wine when
it used 175-ml glasses as opposed to 125-ml ones. Keep it “pint-size” for
fewer headaches.