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.... in moderation of course !
From Reuters
Many studies have found that a small to moderate amount of alcohol can reduce the risk of heart problems. Now, Spanish researchers report that wine drinkers are less likely than teetotalers to come down with the common cold.
Dr. Miguel A. Hernan of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts and colleagues from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the University Hospital of the Canary Islands followed 4,272 male and female teachers at five Spanish universities over a year. All of the men and women, aged 21 to 69, kept daily diaries about cold symptoms including runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, headache, chills, sore throat, cough and malaise.
The investigation revealed that men and women who drank more than 14 glasses of wine each week had a 40% reduction in colds compared with people who drank no alcohol. The association was stronger for red wine and the same findings were not true for people consuming other alcoholic beverages, the report indicates. On average, the men had 1.1 colds per person per year in that time, while women averaged 1.7 colds per person per year.
"These results remained unaltered after adjustment for total alcohol intake and for other potential risk factors for common cold," Hernan and colleagues write. The researchers took into account other risk factors for catching a cold, including exposure to children, smoking status, allergies and other diseases.
"Among those participants consuming both red and white wine, the association was even stronger among those consuming red wine exclusively. Because subjects with a high intake of wine were rare in the study population, our results were limited to light-to-moderate wine consumption," the authors add.
It is not clear why wine drinkers had fewer colds, as the study did not look at this. It's possible that some other factor associated with wine drinking--possibly a healthier lifestyle in general--could explain the link.
The investigators speculate that substances called flavonoids--antioxidants found in grape skins--might have something to do with the drop in risk. Previous research has suggested that flavonoids have the ability to combat rhinoviruses, which are a major cause of colds.
"This finding might explain an increased resistance to viral infection among wine drinkers, but the relevance of any of these or other mechanisms to the relation between wine consumption and common cold episodes remains to be established," Hernan's team concludes.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2002;155:853-858.
From Reuters
Many studies have found that a small to moderate amount of alcohol can reduce the risk of heart problems. Now, Spanish researchers report that wine drinkers are less likely than teetotalers to come down with the common cold.
Dr. Miguel A. Hernan of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts and colleagues from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the University Hospital of the Canary Islands followed 4,272 male and female teachers at five Spanish universities over a year. All of the men and women, aged 21 to 69, kept daily diaries about cold symptoms including runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, headache, chills, sore throat, cough and malaise.
The investigation revealed that men and women who drank more than 14 glasses of wine each week had a 40% reduction in colds compared with people who drank no alcohol. The association was stronger for red wine and the same findings were not true for people consuming other alcoholic beverages, the report indicates. On average, the men had 1.1 colds per person per year in that time, while women averaged 1.7 colds per person per year.
"These results remained unaltered after adjustment for total alcohol intake and for other potential risk factors for common cold," Hernan and colleagues write. The researchers took into account other risk factors for catching a cold, including exposure to children, smoking status, allergies and other diseases.
"Among those participants consuming both red and white wine, the association was even stronger among those consuming red wine exclusively. Because subjects with a high intake of wine were rare in the study population, our results were limited to light-to-moderate wine consumption," the authors add.
It is not clear why wine drinkers had fewer colds, as the study did not look at this. It's possible that some other factor associated with wine drinking--possibly a healthier lifestyle in general--could explain the link.
The investigators speculate that substances called flavonoids--antioxidants found in grape skins--might have something to do with the drop in risk. Previous research has suggested that flavonoids have the ability to combat rhinoviruses, which are a major cause of colds.
"This finding might explain an increased resistance to viral infection among wine drinkers, but the relevance of any of these or other mechanisms to the relation between wine consumption and common cold episodes remains to be established," Hernan's team concludes.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2002;155:853-858.
