Whether you like red wine or white wine, you probably enjoy a glass of wine during a meal. Wine has been said to have some beneficial qualities to it, but if you are someone who is looking to lose weight, should you be pouring that second glass of wine while enjoying a nice bowl of chicken alfredo pasta?
During quarantine, it seems as if the only thing there is to do is enjoy an extra glass of wine per night. Drinking went from going out with friends to having Zoom calls with your bestie. While you sit there and say to yourself “why not” when you’re pouring more wine, remember that we’re not being as active during quarantine and not working off the calories that we’re intaking while sitting at home. It’s the winter now, but the summer is right around the corner and hopefully we can go to the beaches this year. Also, being healthy is a great defense mechanism against the virus that has caused the global pandemic.
In this article, we will be going over whether or not wine is fattening.
What is Wine?
Before we go any further in this article, we should go over what wine exactly is. Wine is, of course; an alcoholic beverage and it is made from fermented grape juice. Depending on whether you use white grapes or red grapes is how you get white wine or red wine. Every person who likes wine has their preference and wine can be paired with a variety of food. It’s typically better for you than beer and contains less alcohol than hard liquor.
The calories that are in wine come primarily from the alcohol and the various amounts of carbs. Now, here is a little bit of a myth buster: wine isn’t particularly high in calories. However, people don’t often drink just one glass of wine. In reality, people are drinking multiple glasses that are filled up more than they should be. Because of this, the calories build up because the consuming becomes more excessive than it’s meant to.
We Digest Wine Differently Than Food
Our body digests wine calories differently than food calories. Our body prioritizes the calories from alcohol and processes them first before any other calories. This means that if you drink too excessively or you drink before you eat a meal, your body is going to initiate a three-step process in order to metabolize the alcohol before switching back to the food.
How Else Does Wine Contribute to Weight Gain?
While wine itself isn’t inherently fattening, wine and alcohol could make you feel hungrier than you actually are. Why is that the case? Well, due to the fact that your blood sugar drops. When you drink dry wine, your blood sugar drops. This is due to the fact that we stated in the section above – that your body priorities the calories from wine before food. So, as a result, you have an appetite to replace the blood sugar that is dropping and you’re going to eat more to try to stabilize this imbalance in your body.
Alcohol also affects how your brain perceives hunger. The alcohol in the wine stimulates that part in your brain that feels hunger, making you want to eat more. So, is wine fattening? Not particularly. But, what it does to the brain and body in stimulating the sensation of hunger is what causes calorie intake and weight gain.
What’s Healthier? Red Wine or White Wine?
Let’s get into what’s better for you – white wine or red wine. In general, in a five ounce wine glass; red wine contains 125 calories. White wine then has 121 per five-ounce glass. Both contain four grams of carbs. Red wine does have a higher amount of minerals and some vitamins, but overall white wine does contain less calories than white wine.
While red wine can be considered healthier than white wine due to the fact that red wine does help prevent heart disease, people hardly drink the maximum amount of red wine for this to actually be beneficial. Most people drink more than the allotted amount. Now, we’re not saying that you need to put down the wine glass entirely, but next time you’re on your third glass of red wine, don’t use health as the reason why you’re doing so.
How to Drink Wine and Stay Healthy
If you don’t want to give up the wine, but you want to get healthier, there are ways to do so. Remember that everything is in moderation. Dark chocolate has health benefits, but not if you’re eating three chocolate bars per day.
Here is how you can be healthy, but also drink wine.
- Before you have some wine, consume some protein. By consuming protein before you drink, you will feel less inclined to eat while you are having a nice glass of wine.
- While having some wine is fine, having multiple glasses every night is not recommended. Let’s also say that a bottle of wine a night is not a single serving, even if you are sitting in quarantine watching the Bachelorette. Minimize your drinking. Do not drink every day and when you do drink, only stick to a glass or two while you drink.
- Not only should you drink more water, but avoid really fattening foods while you drink. It may feel tempting to want to consume a whole pizza while drinking, but go for some protein or a salad instead. Instead of having really fatty and carb-filled food the morning after drinking, try for something like Pho. Pho is great to get you back running and it won’t stick on your bones.
Is Wine Fattening?
Throughout the course of this article, we wanted to explore whether or not wine was fattening. While wine is certainly better to drink than beer, which can be incredibly high in carbs (there’s a reason why it’s called a “beer gut”) there are certain things you should keep in mind. Red wine slightly more beneficial properties than white wine, but white wine has slightly less calories than red wine. Wine in itself is not inherently fattening, but the eating that the alcohol inspires you to do can cause you to gain weight.
Remember that when you are drinking wine not to gobble up a whole pizza pie in one sitting. Eat some protein before you decide to drink some wine and you’ll feel less hungry when you’re on your second glass. Keep these tips in mind while you’re drinking wine and you’ll find yourself not gaining the weight that you may have in the past.
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