好英语网喝红酒真的有益健康吗？
Even though alcohol kills millions of people every year, humans have been imbibing for millennia. In the last few decades, wine, in particular, has gained a reputation for being good for our health. Red wine even has been linked with longevity and lower risk of heart disease.
即或每年有数百万人死于好酒贪杯，但人类饮酒之历史已有几千年。而在过去的几十年里，特别是葡萄酒，还赢得了有益于我们身体健康的美誉。红酒甚至被认为能帮助我们延年益寿，降低患心脏病的风险。
But could wine really be good for us?
但饮葡萄酒真的对我们有益吗？
The first question, of course, is what we mean by “good for us”. Many people think of heart health when we think of the potential upsides of wine.
当然，首先要问的是何谓“对我们有益”。当我们想到葡萄酒的潜在益处时，许多人想到的是有益于心脏健康。
What is less well-known is that research has found strong links between alcohol and cancer. One bottle of wine per week is associated with an increased absolute lifetime cancer risk for non-smokers of 1% for men and 1.4% for women. This equates one bottle of wine per week to five cigarettes for men, or 10 for women.
但鲜少人知道的是，研究发现饮酒和癌症之间关系很大。以一个不抽烟的人来说，每周喝一瓶葡萄酒肯定会增加他们一生中患癌症的风险率，男性增加1%，女性增加1.4%。每周喝一瓶酒，这相当于男人抽5支烟，或者女人抽10支烟。
“While a lot of work [has] been done to communicate the link between smoking and cancer, this is less so for alcohol because public health officials control messaging for smoking, whereas with alcohol, it’s largely been up to the alcohol industry to communicate this itself,” says Mark Bellis, director of policy, research and international development at Public Health Wales.
威尔士公共卫生中心（Public Health Wales）的政策研究和国际发展部主管马克‧贝利斯（Mark Bellis）说：“虽然有关吸烟与癌症之间的关系，已对公众有大量的宣传，但是很少宣传谈到饮酒之弊，因为有关烟草的公开信息受到公共卫生官员的控制，而有关酒的信息，则主要受制于酒类行业自己。”
The idea that research shows a tipple can be beneficial dates back to the 1970s, when scientists found that French people were less likely to have heart disease than other populations, despite eating more saturated fat. There was a clear relationship between lower levels of heart disease and wine consumption. This came to be known as the French paradox – a conundrum which scientists are still untangling today.
研究发现，少量饮酒有益健康的观点可以追溯到上世纪70年代，当时科学家发现，法国人尽管摄入了较多的饱和脂肪，但心脏病的发生率比其他国家的人要低。因此就有了心脏病发病率较低与葡萄酒消费量之间存在明显关系的说法。这就是所谓的“法国悖论”，一个至今仍未被科学家们解开的谜题。
七十年代科学家发现法国人心脏病的发病率较其他国家低，因此认为或许与法国人爱饮葡萄酒有关
We have since been led to believe that moderate wine-drinking can reduce our risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and weight gain.
我们自那以后就信以为真，相信饮酒只要不过量可以降低我们患心脏病、高血压、糖尿病和体重过胖的风险。
“Early research found that moderate levels of wine consumption had a ‘J’-shaped curve effect,” says Helena Conibear, co-director of The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research. “Small, regular amounts of wine seem to lead to longer life, better health and less cognitive decline. Since then, more than 1,000 papers have been published reiterating that.”
国际酒精研究科学论坛（International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research）联席主任海伦娜·科尼贝尔（Helena Conibear）说：“早期研究发现，适量饮用葡萄酒会产生‘J’形曲线效应（指身体健康指数最初呈现低水平效应，然后直线上升维持于高水平，其间数据变化曲线型同英文字母J的现象）。少量、有规律的饮酒似乎能延年益寿，增进健康，减少认知能力的退化。此后有1000多篇论文发表，重申了同一看法。”
As a result, for a long time, the consensus was that abstaining from alcohol is unhealthier than consuming moderate amounts of alcohol (equivalent to one or two drinks a day).
结果是在很长一段时期，社会共识都认为，适量饮酒比起滴酒不沾更有益于健康。所谓适量，是指每天喝一两杯酒。
But that “J”-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption, and death and disease, has come under criticism. It’s now widely understood that a lot of this data could be flawed: people abstaining from alcohol may be doing so because they’re unwell, rather than becoming unwell because they’re abstaining. (This challenge in sorting out cause from effect is the issue with many observational studies, which most nutrition studies are).
但是，这个饮酒与死亡和疾病之间的“J”形关系理论随后受到了批评。现在普遍认为，很多数据可能是有问题的，滴酒不沾的人可能是因为健康差所以才戒酒，而不是因为戒酒后健康变差。（这种倒果为因的现象是许多观察性研究都会遇到的问题，可以说大多数营养学研究都是如此。）
When controlling for this, one 2006 analysis of 54 previously published studies found no correlation between moderate alcohol consumption and lower risk of heart disease.
2006年，将结果这项变量予以控制的一项研究分析了此前发表的54项研究报告后发现，适度饮酒与较低的心脏病风险之间没有相关性。
But in the years since, says Conibear, other studies have found the opposite. “Over the last five years, research has looked at confounding factors,” she says. “We know wine drinkers tend to be better off, better educated and have a less sedentary lifestyle – and adjusting for that, the J-shaped curve can’t be denied.”
而且科尼贝尔还说，其后的几年里，有研究甚至得出相反的结果。她说：“在过去的五年，研究人员一直在研究两者间的多种变量。我们知道，爱喝葡萄酒的人往往比较富有，受教育程度也较高，也较少坐着不运动，按此模式，不可否认存在J型曲线。”
She says researchers have got around this bias by using participants who’ve never drunk before, rather than those who used to drink and now abstain, as they’re more likely to abstain for health reasons.
她说，后来研究人员为克服这种偏颇的研究，在试验中使用的参与者是从来不饮酒的人，而不是过去研究的曾经饮酒，但因健康缘故最后戒酒的参与者。
In one 2019 study, researchers took a different approach to determine whether moderate alcohol intake really is linked to lower risk of heart disease. For 10 years, they followed more than 500,000 adults in China, where two genetic variants (ALDH2-rs671 and ADH1B-rs1229984) influence alcohol drinking patterns, rather than ill health. They also excluded people with poor health.
在2019年的一项研究，研究人员采用了一种不同的方法来确定少量度饮酒是否真的与降低心脏病风险有关。他们对中国50多万名成年人进行了10年的跟踪调查，发现两种基因变异（ALDH2-rs671和ADH1B-rs1229984）会影响饮酒模式，而不是健康不良而影响饮酒模式。他们还排除了健康状况不佳的人。
“Those with no defects can drink as much as they like,” says Zhengming Chen, one of the study’s authors and professor of Epidemiology, at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health. “But those with a dysfunctional enzyme can’t tolerate alcohol at all,” he says.
该研究报告的作者之一、牛津大学（University of Oxford）纳菲尔德人口健康（Nuffield Department of Population Health）流行病学教授陈正明表示：“基因没有缺陷的人可以想喝多少就喝多少，但是那些酶功能失调的人根本不能耐受酒精。”
The researchers also used Chinese women as a control group, because while many Chinese women can metabolise alcohol, many don’t drink for social, rather than health reasons, Chen says.
陈说，研究人员还将中国女性作为对照组，因为虽然很多中国女性可以代谢酒精，但很多女性不会为社交而饮酒，但会为了健康而喝两杯。
This time, the researchers found no “J”-shaped correlation. Instead, they found that the more people drank, the more likely they were to experience high blood pressure and stroke – and there was no reduced risk among people who drank one to two units per day. There was no association either way with heart attacks.
这一次，研究人员没有发现“J”形的相关性。相反，他们发现，喝得越多的人，患高血压和中风的风险就越高，而每天喝一到两个酒精单位（一酒精单位为一小杯葡萄酒、或一瓶啤酒或一小份烈酒）的人，患高血压和中风的风险并没有降低。不过两者都看不出与心脏病有何关系。
As a result, while there was a clear link between alcohol consumption and stroke risk, something in alcohol may protect us against heart attacks.
因此，尽管饮酒与中风之间存在明显的联系，但或许酒精中的某些物质可能会保护我们免受心脏病的侵袭。
“Our study shows that alcohol definitely has a protective mechanism, because high alcohol consumption consistently increases blood pressure, but for heart disease the association is quite flat,” Chen says.
陈正明教授说：“我们的研究表明，酒精确实有一种保护机制，因为大量饮酒会持续升高血压，但对于心脏病来说，没有因为饮酒有风险升高降低的变化。”
“So even as blood pressure goes up, there may be another mechanism that offsets increased blood pressure. But we don’t know if this protective mechanism is enough to offset high blood pressure.”
他说：“所以即使血压升高，也可能有另一种机制来抵消血压的升高。但我们不知道这种保护机制是否足以抵消高血压。”
It’s important to note that the researchers converted all alcoholic drinks into standard alcoholic units, so the results aren’t specific to wine. However, Chen argues wine wouldn’t have shown any different results.
值得注意的是，研究人员将所有的酒类饮料都转换成了标准的酒精单位，所以结果并非专指葡萄酒。不过陈教授认为，葡萄酒的研究结果没有特别的不同。
Red wine
红酒
But wine normally is considered the “healthier” option because of its antioxidants called polyphenols. Also found in fruit and vegetables, polyphenols reduce inflammation in the body, which is a factor for disease. There are ten times as many in red wine than white.
但葡萄酒因为含有一种叫做多酚的抗氧化剂，往往被视为有“养生”作用的酒类。多酚类物质也存在于水果和蔬菜中，可以减少人体内的炎症，而炎症是导致疾病的一个因素。红葡萄酒的多酚含量是白葡萄酒的十倍。
Alberto Bertelli, a researcher at the University of Milan's department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, has found that small amounts of wine can protect us against heart disease, partly due to the drink’s anti-inflammatory properties. He recommends no more than 160ml of wine a day (the size of a champagne flute), but only with a meal, Mediterranean style.
意大利米兰大学（University of Milan）生物医学科学（Biomedical Sciences for Health）健康研究员阿尔贝托·贝泰利（Alberto Bertelli）发现，少量饮用葡萄酒可以预防心脏病，部分原因是葡萄酒具有抗炎的特性。他建议每天喝不超过160毫升的葡萄酒（香槟酒杯大小），而且只在用餐时喝。这是地中海式饮酒风格。
Research has focused on the polyphenol resveratrol in particular, a naturally occurring compound found in grapes’ skin and seeds. Resveratrol is thought to protect against high blood pressure by dilating blood vessels.
研究主要集中在一种存在于葡萄皮和种子中的天然化合物多酚白藜芦醇。白藜芦醇被认为可以扩张血管因而能帮助预防高血压。
But despite there being no resveratrol in white wine (even though it’s in white grapes), Bertelli observed the French paradox also applies to white wine-drinking areas in France. In other words, white wine may have the same health benefits – if wine has benefits at all.
白葡萄酒中没有白藜芦醇，但白葡萄中有。但贝泰利观察到，所谓的“法国悖论”也适用于法国的白葡萄酒饮用领域。换句话说，如果葡萄酒有益于健康的话，那白葡萄酒也可能同样有益。
“We found in white wine two compounds common to extra virgin olive oil, which is recognised as a healthy food, more or less in the same amount,” Bertelli says. These compounds, tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, have also been found to be protective against Alzheimer’s disease.
贝泰利说：“我们在白葡萄酒中发现了两种与特级初榨橄榄油相同的化合物。特级初榨橄榄油被公认是一种健康食品，这两种化合物在白葡萄酒和特级初榨橄榄油的含量大致相同。”贝泰利所说的两种化合物，是酪醇（tyrosol）和羟基（hydroxytyrosol），被发现可以预防老年痴呆症。
Most researchers, however, have found that the vast majority of any believed health benefits apply only to red wine.
然而，大多数研究人员发现，被认为有益于健康的葡萄酒成份绝大多数只在红酒中。
Red wine may be good for gut health, which has numerous benefits to the rest of our body, including improved immunity and digestion, and a healthier weight. In a recent study, researchers studied the drinking habits of twins and found that drinking red wine could improve the diversity of bacteria in the gut, which is linked to better health. But the observed benefits on gut health were found with just one glass of red wine per week, and anyone drinking more than two small glasses a day was excluded from the study.
红酒可能对肠道健康有好处。肠道健康对我们身体的其他部分有很多好处，比如提高免疫力和消化能力，还有比较健康的体重。在最近的一项研究，研究人员研究了双胞胎的饮酒习惯，发现喝红酒可以改善与健康有关系的肠道细菌的多样性。但是，研究发现对肠道健康有好处是每周只喝一杯红酒，而每天喝两小杯红酒者不在研究之内。
研究发现每晚饮一杯红酒者有比较健康的体重和肠道，但也有可能是饮红酒的人本身就比较健康
The researchers also found that people who drank red wine had a lower body mass index (BMI). This also could be why drinking red wine in moderation is associated with health. It’s not that red wine makes you healthier; it’s that red wine drinkers may be healthier to begin with.
研究人员还发现，饮红酒者身体质量指数（BMI）较低，即有较健康的体重。这也可以解释为什么人们认为适量饮用红酒与健康有关。这并不等于饮红酒让你更健康，有可能是喝红酒的人本身就比较健康。
“People who drink red wine often also do more exercise and [are] more affluent and healthier,” says Bellis.
贝利斯说：“喝红酒的人通常也会做较多的运动，他们一般家境比较富裕，体质也较健康。”
The same is true of the gut health question: because the study was observational, the researchers couldn’t establish whether a single glass of red wine a week makes your gut healthier, or people with healthier guts happened to be the kind to drink a glass a week. And randomised control trials, where participants are split into groups and their health measured as they follow different diets, can be particularly unethical when it involves alcohol.
上述现象也适用于肠道健康问题。因为这项研究是观察性的，研究人员无法确定究竟是一周喝一杯红酒让你的肠道较健康，还是那些肠道较为健康的人碰巧每周喝一杯红酒。在随机对照试验中，参与者被分成不同的小组，要他们采用不同的饮食模式，然后对他们的健康状况进行测量，而当涉及到饮酒问题时，这种做法可能就不太道德。
There have been a few randomised control trials – but these have been less than conclusive. A 2016 study found that having one glass of red wine with their evening meal every day for six months didn’t affect the blood pressure of people with diabetes.
有关红酒的饮用已有一些随机对照试验，不过还不足以得出任何结论。2016年的一项随机对照试验研究发现，连续6个月每天在晚餐时喝一杯红酒不会影响糖尿病患者的血压。
Another randomised control study from 2015 found that drinking 150ml of red wine (again, the amount held in a champagne flute), can lower the risk of developing stroke and heart disease among people with diabetes.
2015年的另一项随机对照研究发现，糖尿病患者，饮用150毫升红酒（同于一只香槟酒杯的酒量）可以降低患中风和心脏病的风险。
Healthiest option
健康的选择
In fact, while red wine may be the healthiest drink option, it’s healthier to abstain entirely, says author of the study looking at wine consumption and gut health, Caroline Le Roy, research associate at the Department of Twins Research at Kings College London.
伦敦国王学院（Kings College London）双胞胎研究所（Department of Twins Research ）的研究员卡罗琳·勒罗伊（Caroline Le Roy）曾发表对红酒饮用和肠道健康关系的研究报告。她说，尽管红酒可能是酒类中最健康的选择，但事实上完全不喝酒会更健康。
“We know alcohol is bad for us,” she says. “If you drink, it should be red wine, as this is the only alcoholic drink that’s been found to have a beneficial effect, but I’m not encouraging people to drink red wine.”
她说：“我们知道酒精对我们有害。如果你一定要喝酒，那就饮红酒，因为这是唯一发现对身体有益的酒精饮料，但我不鼓励人们喝红酒。”
Research generally attributes any protective mechanism to resveratrol. But while some researchers believe resveratrol’s ability to be absorbed into the bloodstream is enough to derive antioxidant effects, others doubt it stays in the bloodstream for long enough to benefit us.
研究通常将对身体有益的保护机制归功于白藜芦醇（resveratrol）。但是虽然一些研究人员认为，白藜芦醇被血液吸收的能力足以产生抗氧化效果，但也有一些研究人员怀疑白藜芦醇在血液中停留的时间不足以产生对我们有益的功效。
“There’s controversy around the level of dose you can absorb from a glass of wine, and its bioavailability, which is the body’s ability to absorb it and do us good,” says Conibear.
科尼贝尔说：“你能从一杯酒中吸收多少剂量的白藜芦醇，及其生物利用率有多大，即我们身体吸收的能力，以及对我们身体有多大好处，是存在争议的。”
There has been increasing attention on resveratrol supplements in recent years. However, data on the effectiveness of resveratrol pills is conflicting. Bertelli argues that we need the alcohol component of wine to absorb resveratrol.
近年来，白藜芦醇补充剂越来越受到关注。不过，有关服用白藜芦醇片有效性的数据是相互矛盾的。贝泰利指出，我们需要葡萄酒中的酒精成分来帮助吸收白藜芦醇。
“Resveratrol has the same bioavailability as other polyphenols in fruit, but it doesn’t matter how much you ingest, it matters how much gets into the bloodstream,” he says.
他说：“白藜芦醇与水果中的其他多酚具有相同的生物利用率，但摄入多少并不重要，重要的是有多少被血液所吸收。”
“Before we absorb the compounds in wine, they must be dissolved. They help others absorb, they all work together, and this is unique to wine,” he says.
他说：“在我们吸收葡萄酒中的白藜芦醇之前，这种化合物必须先溶解。酒能帮助吸收，白藜芦醇和酒共同起作用，这种功效是葡萄酒所独有的。”
According to UK guidelines, which are among the most stringent globally, we should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. While the research on any health benefits of wine is nascent, it is still largely agreed that the healthiest option is to abstain – and that red wine is the healthiest option for those who do drink.
根据英国的饮酒指南，我们每周饮酒不应超过14个酒精单位。英国的饮酒指南是全球最严格的饮酒指引之一。虽然对葡萄酒健康益处的研究还处于起步阶段，但人们普遍认为，最健康的选择是不喝酒，而对于那些饮酒的人来说，红葡萄酒是最健康的选择。
But we shouldn’t drink red wine for any health benefits, Bellis says, because there are numerous ways to boost our health more effectively. “Of course people want to hear that the half a bottle of wine they drink after work is at least doing them no harm, and even better, could be doing them some good. But that’s far from truth,” he says.
但是贝利斯说，我们不应该为了健康而去喝红酒，因为有很多方法可以更有效地促进我们的健康。他表示。“当然，人们一厢情愿地希望听到下班后喝半瓶葡萄酒至少对他们没有害处，甚至可能对他们有好处。当然事实远非如此。”
Want to boost your health? Eating more fruits and vegetables, and exercising, remain the best and most proven ways to do it – not pouring yourself a glass of wine.
想要增强你的健康？多吃水果和蔬菜，多锻炼，是最好的也是最有效的方法，而不是给自己倒上一杯酒。
