Few drinks (other than tea or coffee) can separate the world as clearly and distinctly as wine or beer. Of course, it goes without saying that everyone tastes the same, but there are subtle differences between the two types of alcohol in the way they affect your body and your health. Is one more likely to make you fat than the other? And what about their beneficial effects on the heart? Which alcohol makes you feel more uncomfortable when you’re drunk?
BBC Future takes a closer look at the data and explores some of the myths surrounding these two drinks.
Which makes you drunker faster?
A pint of stored beer has the same amount of alcohol as a medium glass of red wine – both have two or three imperial units (16-24 grams). However, the culprit that gets you drunk is the amount of alcohol in your blood vessels – and the rate at which alcohol enters your bloodstream depends largely on the type of alcohol.
Mack Mitchell of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently arranged for 15 men to drink different kinds of alcohol on different days. He determined that the alcohol content was accurately matched to the testers’ weight and made sure they consumed the alcohol at the same rate over a 20-minute period.
Spirits were unquestionably the fastest to enter the bloodstream, resulting in the highest peak alcohol levels, followed by red wine (which peaked in the blood after 54 minutes of drinking) and then beer (which peaked in the blood after 62 minutes of drinking). In other words, a glass of red wine is more likely to lead to a headache than a pint of beer.
Conclusion: Beer is less likely to make you embarrassed about being drunk
What kind of alcohol makes you pot-bellied?
On the face of it, the myth of the beer belly should be true. Alcohol itself contains calories, not to mention all the sugar that makes our beloved brew so delicious. A pint of beer and a small glass of red wine are both about 180 calories, but beer is 50% more energy than wine, which is enough to make you gain weight.
But for people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol, the difference is negligible. Recent studies have assessed that drinkers do not gain weight in the short term, regardless of whether they drink wine or beer. However, the authors found that the longest duration in these studies lasted only 10 weeks.
These studies may have overlooked the subtle weight gain, even if only 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) was gained during this period, but over five years one would end up gaining 25 kilograms (55 pounds) and a beer belly. That’s the equivalent of carrying 10 full-term babies in your belly.
(On the positive side, the commonly held belief that beer causes men to have bigger breasts is pure nonsense.)
Conclusion: The difference is small, but red wine may be more advantageous
Which wine makes people react more uncomfortably when they’re drunk?
Try as they might, scientists have been unable to conquer their most powerful enemy: the adverse effects of drunkenness. We haven’t even been able to completely clarify the causes of the adverse reactions. Dehydration may be a major factor (alcohol causes us to excrete more fluid than we drink), but the adverse reaction may also be caused by some of the byproducts of fermentation.
These organic molecules, called derivatives, give each drink its unique flavor and aroma, but they can also be toxic to the body, often resulting in headaches and nausea after a night of drinking.
Generally speaking, it is believed that darker beverages contain more derivatives. In fact, the evidence for this claim is still unclear. Although dark spirits such as bourbon cause more adverse reactions than clear vodka, so far the hangover reactions are similar for different beers and wines. So if you haven’t started drinking spirits yet, don’t blame your choice of alcohol for the pain of adverse reactions.
Conclusion: too vague to predict
Which is better (or worse) for your health?
It is often said that a daily glass of red wine can relieve sorrow and reduce the risk of heart disease, High blood pressure and diabetes. This refreshing nutrient is said to be derived from “polyphenols” (found especially in red wine), which reduce inflammation and remove harmful chemicals from the body.
Obviously, beer doesn’t have these well-known health benefits, but it does contain some polyphenols, which provide the proper benefits similar to white wine, but less than red wine. Of course none of these benefits can be your ticket to alcoholism, but with moderate consumption and a glass of wine a day, it is possible to get the doctor to “go around”.
Conclusion: Red wine wins easily, but beer is better than not drinking at all
Overall conclusion: When it comes to health benefits, red wine deserves the accolade of being the best Medicine. However, beer lovers can at least respond by saying that their drinking history is glorious. In fact, some anthropologists have hinted that our love of beer may have also spawned the grains needed for agriculture, and even civilization as a result. You might want to think about that the next Time you’re waiting for a drink at the bar.
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