Many people feel hungry right before bedtime even after they had dinner. Luckily for you, scientists have found the perfect bedtime snack that you’ll absolutely love – wine.
In recent years, alcohol has been linked to the growing obesity epidemic, with health experts insisting that calories in alcohol should not be treated any differently from those in food. Indeed, the EU recently made for the calorie content to be clearly stated on the labels of wine, beer and spirit bottles.
But there is also an evidence which suggests that far from making us fat, drinking wine could actually be the key to weight loss.
Yes, it’s true. Studies have also shown that wine can help improve type 2 diabetes because it boosted glucose metabolism, process by which simple sugars found in many foods are processed into energy.
Linda Monk is a 47-year old woman who managed to lose 6 pounds in 3 weeks thanks to drinking a glass of wine before going to bed. She claims that a glass of wine helped her suppress her cravings for unhealthy snacks. She took this advice from a Tim Ferriss’s book called “The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide To Rapid Weight Loss”. Ferriss stands strong behind his theory that a glass of wine before going to bed will make you feel more satisfied.
One study done in the course of 13 years at Harvard University showed that drinking 2 glasses of wine per day lessens your risk of obesity by 70 % compared to non-drinkers. The study was done among 20.000 women.
“The wine curbs my sugar cravings,” Linda says.
“‘My long-held desire to snack on sweets, biscuits and chocolate after my dinner has disappeared and the relaxing effect of the alcohol makes me feel that, despite cutting back, I’m not being hard done by.”
Another study, recently presented at the European Conference on Obesity in Prague, claim that a glass of red wine every night increased the levels of the HDL – the ‘good’ cholesterol.
Samantha Merrit, a 40-year old woman praises the nightly wine. Drinking wine also helped her sleep better and fell less anxious.
“The calories don’t seem to have made an impact on the bathroom scales… Now, I can happily say no to a dessert and I treat myself to a glass or two around four nights a week,” explains Samantha.
According the study, red wine is better than white wine, because it contains high levels of resveratrol, compound found in the skin of grapes, which helps break down fats and reduce the total amount of fat in your body.
Red wine contributes to a healthy weight because of the process of digesting. This drink triggers the body to burn more calories. Women make a smaller amount of the enzyme that metabolises alcohol than men, and this is the reason for bigger production of the enzyme that requires the body to burn energy.
So, it’s not about the calorie content, but it is about the effect that wine has on the body compared with chocolate, sweet treats and fattening snacks that have a similar calorie content as wine.
Don’t forget, moderation is the key. Two glasses of wine a day might be good, but drinking more might make you gain weight. Stick to 1-2 glasses a day to lose weight, sleep better and fell a bit happier.
Linda and Samantha seem to be live proof of the study.