What kind of wine is good for your health before going to bed?

In the eyes of ancient poets, the most beautiful thing in the world is drinking, and they have incorporated it into their poems and songs to express their emotions. There is Cao Cao's lament about the brevity of life in his Short Song: "Singing to the wine, how long is life? Like the morning dew, the past days are full of suffering. I should be generous and my worries are unforgettable. How can I relieve my worries? Only Du Kang can help me"; there is Du Fu's hearty and refreshing expression: "Singing in the daytime and drinking, it is good to return home with youth as my companion"; and there is the immortal poet Li Bai's unparalleled feat of "drinking a hundred poems after drinking".

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Drinking is not only a dietary habit, but also a cultural heritage. Wine is almost everywhere in modern people's lives. There is a saying that "no wine, no feast". Nowadays, some people regard drinking as a means of health preservation. I have heard rumors such as "a glass of red wine before bed can soften blood vessels and beautify the face"; "a cup of white wine before bed can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, and keep people young"; "a glass of beer before bed, at least in a good mood"... Are these rumors about drinking before bed being good for health true? Or what kind of wine can achieve these health preservation and fitness effects?

This is not necessarily the case. Drinking before bed may not only fail to achieve the effects you want, but may also increase the risk of disease.

01

Drinking is a risk

And it has nothing to do with quantity

There is a popular saying among wine lovers: "Drinking is good for your health as long as you don't drink too much", but in fact this may not be the case.

The relationship between drinking and health is very clear: drinking has become one of the leading causes of death. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a global report on alcohol and health, pointing out that about 3 million people die from drinking each year worldwide.

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On the one hand, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cancer. According to the list of carcinogens released by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), alcohol is listed as a Class 1 carcinogen, which means it is a carcinogen with very clear evidence and can induce cancer in seven parts of the body, including the liver, breast, rectum, colon, oropharynx, larynx and esophagus.

On the other hand, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. A study published in the top international medical journal "Lancet" in 2019 found through an 11-year follow-up study of 599,912 participants from 19 high-income countries that there is a significant correlation between drinking and all-cause mortality and the risk of various cardiovascular diseases, and there is no "safe dose". This means that it is not only long-term alcoholism that will cause adverse consequences. In other words, there are risks as long as you drink. Do you feel a chill on your back after reading this?

02

Drinking before bed is good for your health? Not true!

Based on the various data and research results mentioned above, it can be judged that the long-popular "a small cup of milk before bed" health-preserving method is unreliable.

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On the one hand, the so-called drinking can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. In fact, alcohol dilates blood vessels and accelerates blood flow, which can achieve the effect of speeding up blood circulation to a certain extent; but at the same time it also increases the burden on the heart and even irritates blood vessels. For people who already have blood circulation disorders, such as coronary heart disease or hypertension, alcohol stimulation may induce blood pressure out of control, and even secondary cardiovascular and cerebrovascular hemorrhage or infarction.

On the other hand, the idea that drinking alcohol can improve sleep may be a false proposition. It is true that you feel sleepier after drinking alcohol, but falling asleep is not the same as sleep quality. Most people wake up from thirst after drinking alcohol because alcohol consumes a lot of water during metabolism, causing dehydration. Even if you don't wake up in the middle of the night, this dehydration will make your body tired, which is why you still feel tired after waking up from the alcohol.

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So, is red wine healthier than white wine and beer? Not necessarily. Red wine fermented from grapes contains a certain amount of tannin, which has a certain protective effect on blood lipids and cardiovascular system. In this sense, red wine is indeed more suitable than white wine and beer. But the problem is that not all red wines contain tannin, and the content is also affected by the variety. In other words, the protective effect of tannin in red wine is difficult to offset the harmful effects of alcohol in red wine on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems.

03

What kind of alcohol should be controlled

Of course it’s best not to drink

Therefore, no matter what kind of alcohol you drink, no matter what occasion you are in, you should control your drinking. The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2016) clearly states that both men and women should quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption. Men should not drink more than 25 grams of alcohol per day, and women should not drink more than 15 grams. For example, men are advised to control their consumption of liquor to less than half a liang, and if they drink beer, they should not drink more than one bottle (500 ml). Of course, it is best not to drink at all.

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For friends who love to drink, there are also some health tips: Be sure to try not to drink on an empty stomach, drink plenty of warm water after drinking to help metabolize alcohol and reduce its harm to the body, and never "quench your thirst" with carbonated drinks, otherwise you will get drunk faster.

Although good wine is good, don't drink too much. Drinking before going to bed may not be good for your health. It is recommended that you drink according to your own situation and don't blindly follow the trend.

Author: Zhang Yu, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Review | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

This article is produced by the "Science Rumor Refutation Platform" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.