Drinking Your Way Out of Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk

Okay, before you all get too excited with the title, let us all remember the word moderation when pertaining to alcohol intake. 😉

Now…studies are claiming that it may be possible that drinking five glasses of wine per week can reduce the risk of the onset of rheumatoid arthritis by 50 percent.

I got the following from HealthNews:

According to a recent Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases report, people who drank the equivalent of five glasses of an alcoholic beverage per week were approximately 50 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who drank little or no alcohol.

The Sweden-based Karolinska Institute conducted two studies with 2,750 people and analyzed environmental and genetic risk factors that come into play with rheumatoid arthritis. All of the participants in the studies were asked about their lifestyles, including smoking and drinking habits, and blood samples were done to balance the research with genetic risk factors. Over half of the participants were found to have rheumatoid arthritis.

Those who drank alcohol were found to have significantly lower risks of developing the disease, and the more alcohol consumed, the lower the risk. In fact, the quarter of the participants who drank the most was found to be up to 50 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who drank the least. As with other inflammatory diseases having to do with the heart, alcohol consistently seems to reduce the risk of inflammation, which now rings true with arthritis, though the cause of this correlation remains undetermined.

But then the news on the health benefits of moderately drinking wine (especially red wine!) isn’t exactly new. In recent years, wine has been found to be good for our heart and in some types of cancer.

With regards to rheumatoid arthritis, I think, like in any other condition, the effects will most likely be seen to those who has been drinking wine for the long term. I mean you cannot just start drinking wine say this month and expect to lower the onset of your rheumatoid arthritis. Besides, there are just too many factors to consider.

Still, if taken moderately, I see nothing wrong with me. Wine is wine and it made from the fruit of the vine (grapes). Even our wine-drinking ancestors knew it is good for the body. Maybe one reason why people in the old days lived longer? Maybe.

So let us drink to that. Just watch how much you wine you drink, okay? It says here wine, not beer. Not brandy and those distilled alcohol stuff. 😉