Professor Tim Spector's alcohol 'treat' which also helps with heart health and inflammation
Nutritional scientist Tim Spector has given a big boost to lovers of the occasional tipple - and admitted he likes a couple of glasses of wine a day. The diet and wellbeing guru who is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London and who founded the Zoe health app has also explained which type of wine people should drink - and it does have health benefits.
In a new interview in The Times Mr Spector, 66, said that he follows an 80/20 rule: 80 per cent of the time sticking to dietary principles, the rest indulging in whatever he wants. He said he has: “Two glasses of wine a night. Usually I have one night off a week but not always. That’s my weakness.”
For breakfast it was all healthy food though - yoghurt, kefir, figs from Spain, peaches and a handful of Zoe Daily 30+, a mix of nuts, seeds and freeze- dried plants which is being sold for £2.25 in Waitrose. Tim has previously spoken about the benefits of red wine and explained that polyphenols in it can help with heart health and inflammation.
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He said: “I can’t deny it, I like wine. I’ve always had an interest in it. But the epidemiological evidence is quite clear that alcohol is bad for you and, overall, is best avoided. If you do want to have a drink while you socialise, red wine is your best bet. Studies consistently show that drinking one or two glasses of red wine a day reduces the risk of heart disease. Although, overall mortality probably doesn’t change much.
“This effect is probably due to the polyphenols in red wine. Thankfully, young wines tend to have higher levels of polyphenols, so you don’t need to splash the cash on vintage plonk to reap the health benefits. White wine, on the other hand, has three times less polyphenols, so their health effects are obliterated by the alcohol content.
“If you do plan on having a glass of red, enjoy it with a meal, and don’t have it late at night – alcohol can affect your sleep quality and duration. I tend to drink my wine earlier in the evening or as an aperitif (though I sometimes forget).”