Wine News

The stereotype of the beer drinker as a lover of cholesterol-boosting snacks has been borne out by a study that also confirms that wine drinkers are likelier to tuck into something light and healthy.

Four Danish researchers ploughed through 3.5 million transactions that were carried out in Danish supermarkets over six months.The team categorised transactions as ";wine only";, ";beer only";, ";mixed"; or ";non-alcohol";.

";Wine buyers bought more olives, fruit and vegetables, poultry, cooking oil and low-fat cheese, milk and meat than beer buyers,"; they report in a paper published online last Friday by the British Medical Journal.

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";Beer buyers bought more ready-cooked dishes, sugar, cold cuts, chips (crisps), pork, butter or margarine, sausages, lamb and soft drinks than wine buyers.";

The findings, the authors say, add to previous research conducted elsewhere in Western cultures that say wine drinkers tend to have a higher income, level of education and awareness of healthy diet than beer drinkers.

";The health benefits of drinking wine may be due to specific substances in wine or to different characteristics of people who drink other types of alcohol. Thus it is crucial that studies on the relationship between alcohol intake and mortality adjust for other lifestyle factors such as drinking patterns, smoking, physical activity, education or income";, the Danish researchers said.