Study: Extra glass of wine could take 30 minutes off of your life

Before you raise that next glass of red, white, blush, or any flavor: you may want to sip slowly.

Long regarded as a heart-health booster, the latest study regarding wine drinking says we may be doing more harm than good with the drink.

The study, published last month in the Lancet Medical Journal, found that an extra glass of wine in your diet could actually take about 30 minutes off your life!

“So if you drink 10 glasses of wine a week it’s going to cut your life expectancy by almost 2 years, and if you drink over 17 glasses a week it’s going to reduce it by almost 5 years,” said Orlando Health Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt.

The study set the new recommendation for American wine drinkers at 5 glasses per week. That may not seem so drastic until you look at the previous recommendation which allowed about 14 glasses per week for men and 7 for women.

Dr. Brahmbhatt said these are standard pours of wine too; no extra-large glasses.

Is it really that drastic though? Is the drink really doing that kind of harm?

Dr. B said there is definitely some fine print in this study which was massive in scale and in length.

“600,000 people across 19 countries: there’s going to be some biases,” he said.

However, the doctor said he actually finds the new recommendation to be a reasonable one.

“What we’re doing is just lowering that number that we define as moderation for your overall benefit,” said Dr. B.

So Brahmbhatt said, as much as it may cut back on some fun for some, 5 glasses a week may be a good goal to aim for to get the maximum health benefits out of wine without risking your overall health.

He also reminds patients that the recommendation is just as true for beer and hard liquor, and that, beyond the new target number, it’s really about something Americans have long had issues with: portion control.

“Because reality is: the less you eat now, the less you drink now, you’re going to be able to eat and drink for a lot longer,” he said.