Nothing beats unwinding with a glass of wine at the end of a long day. But is enjoying red wine really better for you than sipping white?
Researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health recently set out to answer that question. It turns out the answer is not as straightforward as a “yes” or “no.”
The researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of 42 observational studies that involved about 96,000 participants. All of these studies explored the relationship between wine consumption and cancer risk.
When the Brown University researchers compared study participants who drank the most wine with those who drank the least, they found that consuming wine, whether red or white, was not associated with overall cancer risk.
But when they looked at the men and women separately, they found that in women only, consuming white wine was associated with a significant increased risk of cancer in general. This was not so for red wine.
The researchers also looked at specific types of cancers, including those of the skin, colon/rectum, kidney/urinary tract, lung, ovary, female breast and prostate. This revealed another unexpected finding: Drinking white wine was associated with a 22% higher risk of skin cancer.
The researchers said they don’t know why drinking white wine, but not red wine, is associated with skin cancer risk. They called for more research into this connection.
Red wine consumption is on the rise. This might be partly because of a widespread belief that its high levels of resveratrol protect against cancer. Resveratrol is an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties.
But the researchers found no clear evidence of such a protective effect. Overall, they concluded that their study seems to undermine the belief that drinking red wine is healthier than white.
To learn more about the connections between diet and cancer risk, check out “8 Common Foods That May Increase Your Risk of Cancer.”
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