Wine drinkers have healthier diets than beer drinkers

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

An analysis of purchases from Danish supermarkets suggests that wine drinkers are also healthy eaters, compared to beer drinkers.
Previous research suggests that drinking wine is associated with lower mortality than drinking beer or spirits. Researchers in Denmark now shed new light on why this might be. They looked at 3.5 million transactions in 98 branches of two major Danish supermarket chains. They wanted to see what other items those who purchased – and presumably drank – wine and beer had on their shopping list.

Wine drinkers bought more olives, fruit, vegetables, low fat cheese, meat, milk, poultry and cooking oil. Beer drinkers bought more cooked dishes, sugar, cold cuts, chips, pork, butter or margarine, sausages, lamb, and soft drinks. In comparison, wine drinkers seem to have a healthier diet than beer drinkers. The health benefits of moderate wine consumption may not come from the wine itself, but from the overall diet of the individual drinking it.

Source
BMJ Online First 19th January 2006