Why I drink a glass of red wine for my gut microbes

Science and sensibility

Alcohol consumption guidelines vary widely between countries. In the UK and Netherlands, no more than one glass of wine or a pint of beer a day is recommended. In the US it is double these levels, and in Mediterranean countries and Chile it’s even more relaxed when it comes to drinking wine.

Though there is generally a consensus that everyone should drink less alcohol, and levels of alcohol use are reducing in most countries, especially in young adults, more than 3m (or one in 20) deaths globally are attributed to alcohol consumption – making it 100 times more harmful than cannabis, cocaine and heroin.

Drinking any amount of alcohol is said to increase the risk of many diseases, including cancers, and liver disease. Yet a number of studies also seem to suggest there might be health benefits to a low intake of red wine. On top of the science is the human history of drinking: we have been enjoying fermented alcoholic fruits for millenia and Blue Zones research suggests it might be key to living to 100.

Red wine and the gut

My own research adds support to the idea that a small glass of red wine a day might actually be beneficial to your health – specifically to your gut bacteria.

This community of trillions of microbe inhabiting our lower intestines is known as the gut microbiome. Research shows that our gut microbes can affect multiple aspects of our general health and play a role in many illnesses but also dictate how the food we eat or the drugs we take affect us. This is partly due to the fact that gut microbes are responsible for producing thousands of chemical metabolites, that have effects on our brain, metabolism and immune systems.

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Previous research in small studies in humans and in artificial gut models has suggested that red wine could impact our gut bacteria. And in our study we investigated this relationship on a large population scale in different countries to understand how drinking red wine may impact gut health compared to other alcoholic drinks.