--- title: Red Wine Not That Healthy After All, Study Shows description: But you can still enjoy the health benefits of chocolate (in moderation) canonical: https://time.com/97878/red-wine-healthy-study/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-13T18:00:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:52:59.969Z article:section: Health og:title: Red Wine Not That Healthy After All, Study Shows og:description: But you can still enjoy the health benefits of chocolate (in moderation) og:url: https://time.com/97878/red-wine-healthy-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt020cad9cedb468af/69868f22e8524bb6b9602dbc/drinking-wine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: 109704560 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Red Wine Not That Healthy After All, Study Shows twitter:description: But you can still enjoy the health benefits of chocolate (in moderation) twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt020cad9cedb468af/69868f22e8524bb6b9602dbc/drinking-wine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Red Wine Not That Healthy After All, Study Shows > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=400d4534-7fd6-45bb-8dd4-9861598c9e6c&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Study: Red Wine & Chocolate’s ‘Health Benefits’ Are Bogus [Watch (HLS stream): Study: Red Wine & Chocolate’s ‘Health Benefits’ Are Bogus](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FwpqOu4g.m3u8) (2:21)  _Published 2014-05-13. Attention, all red wine lovers — turns out, that glass of Merlot might not be as healthy as you thought. A new study released Monday concluded low doses of resveratrol found in red wine and dark chocolate don’t lead to added health benefits._ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video May 13, 2014 6:00 PM UTC by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video May 13, 2014 6:00 PM UTC Attention, all red wine lovers: It turns out that glass of Merlot might not be as beneficial to your health as previously thought. A new study released Monday [found that](http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27371546) low doses of resveratrol found in red wine and dark chocolate don’t lead to added health benefits. Resveratrol is a chemical with antioxidant properties found in a number of foods, including red wine, dark chocolate and berries. In the past, [a number of studies](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/05/13/311904587/resveratrol-may-not-be-the-elixir-in-red-wine-and-chocolate) have shown that consumption of these foods may reduce inflammation, leading researchers to speculate that their common chemical must have explained the phenomenon. But the study finds otherwise. A team of researchers tracked the health of nearly 800 villagers from Tuscany, the region in Italy where the wine Chianty is made, to see if their drinking habits had any discernable impact on their well-being. They concluded that resveratrol concentration [was not linked](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276718.php) with cardiovascular disease or cancer rates. It’s not all bad news, though. While you may have to cut down your wine consumption, you can still hold on to that bar of chocolate: There’s still [pretty strong evidence](http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/15/sweet-a-little-chocolate-a-day-may-help-lower-blood-pressure/) that it may be good for your heart. ## Transcript Attention all red wine lovers, turns out that glass of Merlot might not be as healthy as you thought. Resveratrol, the ingredient commonly thought to have health benefits failed to promote longevity among Italians who wait to dive rich in the antioxidant. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the low doses of resveratrol found in red wine and dark chocolate are not associated with a longer life span or a decrease in heart disease or cancer risks. Many doctors and medical experts recommend consuming small amounts of red wine and dark chocolate, in part, because of what's known as the French paradox. The National Center for Biotechnology Information notes, French people are generally known to have low coronary heart disease death rates despite a high intake of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. But, the new study's lead author says, we probably can't credit red wine and chocolate for this counter- intuitive health trend. He told National Journal, I think there are other factors involved. Other antioxidants, other than resveratrol, could contribute, or smaller portions and more exercise. The French Paradox is still kind of a hypothesis. It doesn't seem to make sense. To come to this rather disappointing conclusion, researchers studied nearly 800 men and women from two villages in the Tuscany region of Italy, over the course of nine years. The participants were all over the age of 65 and consumed resveratrol as part of their regular diets. After analyzing urine samples and medical evaluations from each participant, the researchers determined 27 % of the group developed heart disease, and 5 % developed cancer regardless of their resveratrol levels. 34 % of the participants died during the time period. Previous studies into the effect of resveratrol found high doses of the antioxidant did significantly delay the effects of aging in mice. But scientists say, it's not as easy for humans to get the same results. The study found two red wines a day did nothing to boost levels of the antioxidant, and you'd need to drink 100 glasses to get any of the benefits seen in mice. The study's authors admit more research into the topic needs to be done, but for now, they don't recommend taking any resveratrol supplements. Thanks for watching. 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