Scientists ranked 20 drinks according to the benefit and harm to the body
Apple wine is among the most healthy alcoholic beverages, and overdoing it with gin and tonic and low-quality beer can seriously damage health.
This was shown by a study by a team from London’s King’s College led by nutrition expert Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology, writes in “Daily Mail”.
Experts have ranked 20 popular drinks according to their qualities and effects on the human body. First of all, it is without competition red wine, whose consumption in moderate quantities has been scientifically proven to strengthen the heart and prolong life.
The surprise in the rating is number two – the cider but not the mass-produced one, but the high-quality one prepared using pure domestic technology. It is made from 100% freshly pressed apples, not from apple concentrate, has no artificial and harmful additives and is fermented slowly in special farms. This makes it significantly more expensive than the one in mass sale where
the apple juice is 35%, it is done from concentrate,
colorings and sweeteners are added to it. The researchers ranked this mass-produced cider at the bottom of the list as an over-processed product with preservatives.
Their main criterion for a healthy drink is the presence in it of polyphenols – plant ingredients with a beneficial effect on the intestinal microflora, which reduce inflammatory processes in the body, which are especially dangerous for the elderly, writes in “Daily Mail”.
Red wine, unlike white wine, contains an abundance of this powerful antioxidant because it ferments together with the skin of the grape. The same goes for apple wine and perry cider.
According to Dr. Specter, a glass or two of red wine or up to 330 milliliters of cider daily are optimal options for alcoholic drinkers.
Third, it is ranked after home cider the rose which remains in contact with the grape skin longer than the white wine. It is in fourth place because it contains 10 times less polyphenols than red wine.
They are down in the rankings the cheap low-quality beer and the high-alcohol distilled spirits such as whiskey, vodka, brandy, rum, tequila. The useful plant ingredients in them are destroyed in the production process.
At the bottom of the table, gin in combination with tonic is indicated as the most harmful. Despite claims that in large doses it is addictive, causes unhealthy weight loss and impairs memory, gin has not been proven to be any more harmful than other hard alcohol. The dangerous thing in this cocktail is actually the tonic – the high fructose corn syrup added to it
increases cholesterol and it is risky for the heart
And other polyphenol-poor distilled beverages are often drunk with sweetened soft drinks like cola and lemonade, which spike blood sugar and weight. On his website, Prof. Tim Spector advises that they should be consumed only occasionally. He also warns not to overdo it with beer and, if possible, to choose better quality craft beer, which is good for the gut microbiome.
The specialist recommends the probiotic drink made from kombucha – a mushroom made of various microorganisms with a high content of amino acids. It is refreshing, slightly carbonated, reminiscent of beer and comes in different flavors.
“I don’t advise people who don’t drink alcohol to start doing it. But those who drink with lunch or dinner, it is better to focus on red wine, cider and rosé”, says the professor. He points out that the polyphenols in them
strengthen no only the heart but also the immune system,
speed up metabolism.
However, red wine is only beneficial if consumed under two glasses per day. At the same time, the individual characteristics of each organism must be taken into account, because people react differently to alcohol.
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