Drinking red wine, white wine and Champagne may reduce your risk of getting COVID-19–especially red wine–a new study has found. The news for beer drinkers isn’t so good, however, as drinking beer and cider might actually increase your risk of getting Covid-19.
The study, made through the UK Biobank and published in Frontiers of Nutrition, looked at the medical records of 473,957 people – tracking alcohol consumption and Covid infection throughout the course of the pandemic.
“Adverse effects of alcohol consumption have been widely documented,” noted the study. “The observed relationships between alcohol consumption and diseases are often non-linear, with low-to-moderate alcohol consumption being protective and heavy alcohol consumption being harmful.”
The study found that compared with non-drinkers, the COVID-19 risk was 10–17% lower in red wine consumers, and 7–8% lower in white wine and champagne drinkers. Beer and cider drinkers, meanwhile, were found to be at a 28% increased risk of Covid infection compared to those who didn’t drink at all.
“Studies have shown that wines exhibit beneficial properties which are independent of the presence of alcohol, and should be attributed to their polyphenolic contents,” says the study. “Red wine provides additional benefits to other alcoholic beverages probably due to its higher polyphenolic content, by decreasing blood pressure, inhibiting the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein particles and other favorable effects on the cellular redox state, improving endothelial function, inhibiting platelet aggregation, reducing inflammation and cell adhesion, and activating proteins that prevent cell death.”
“Our study suggests that subjects who usually consumed red wine and white wine and champagne above guidelines, and sometimes consumed 1–2 glasses/week fortified within the guidelines appear to have chances to reduce the risk of COVID-19,” concluded the authors.
For more information on alcohol and COVID-19, check out “Alcohol, Vaccines, And COVID-19: What We Know So Far.”