Is Wine Better for You Than Hard Liquor?
- Marla
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
There’s been considerable debate regarding the health benefits and risks of alcohol: how moderate drinking may help the heart but increase the chance of certain cancers, how it includes added sugars but encourages social connection, etc. The plethora of conflicting information is confusing and makes it hard for us to make informed decisions about whether and how much to drink.
But does it also depend on what we drink? How do the different types of alcohol stack up against each other? Do all kinds of alcohol have the same effects? Is all alcohol created equal?
Apparently not.
Wine may be healthier for us than hard liquors, such as tequila and whiskey. And it’s not because of the wine itself, but because of the way we drink it. The real culprit is not the alcohol; it’s the alcohol levels in our blood. That’s what determines the health benefits and harms from drinking.
Wait – Why Is Wine Better for You Than Hard Alcohol?
Generally, a drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.
When we drink, our stomachs and small intestines absorb the alcohol, which enters the bloodstream. The liver metabolizes it and filters it out, about a drink an hour. If we drink faster than the liver can process the booze, the blood alcohol level increases.
Venerable institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic note generally that absorption is affected by how quickly one drinks, the amount of alcohol consumed, and whether the consumption is on an empty stomach. But they don’t break down whether the type of alcohol is a factor; they treat them all the same.
And that may be a mistake. Two recent articles, here and here, written by Michael Apstein, MD, a gastroenterologist at the renowned Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, report that although all alcohol is the same chemically, wine is arguably less risky than spirits because the blood alcohol levels are lower. Wine has a lower concentration of alcohol, is drunk more slowly, and is usually enjoyed with food, which slows absorption. The liver is thus better able to handle the alcohol, so less ends up in the bloodstream.
High blood alcohol levels are harmful in the short term. That’s what the police test for when drunk driving is suspected and what causes alcohol poisoning.
But high levels also hurt the body over time. Apstein cites several studies that found the effects of wine and spirits on health differ (there is less research on beer). Thus, equating wine with hard liquor is “fundamentally mistaken” and “undermines the advice public health organizations provide regarding alcohol consumption.”
He’s not advocating that people drink, but if they do, they should, among other things, choose wine for its lower alcohol levels.
What Does This Mean for Consumers?
As a wine drinker, I found this information particularly interesting. The distinction between wine and spirits and their varying effects on health is no secret and makes a lot of sense – but it had not been on my radar. A quick Google search shows that it’s not on other people’s, either.
Apstein’s main premise is that the distinction between wine and hard liquor from a health perspective is vitally important and that this issue should be getting much more attention.
I agree. If this were more widely known, it could reduce much of the confusion and misinformation about alcohol and health and have a significant effect on the drink choices people make.
What do you think of the assertion that wine is better for you than hard liquor? Does this information affect what you consume? Let us know! We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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