啤酒與紅酒，哪個更健康？

柒月 杜筠

Is Beer Better （or Worse） for You than Wine？

啤酒和紅酒在“酒界”可謂各據一方，深受人們喜愛。但隨著健康養生理念逐步傳播開來，不同酒類的健康性問題也被熱議。人們往往認為紅酒有益于健康，啤酒則會增加身體的負擔。然而紅酒真的比啤酒健康么？究竟誰才會讓你更快醉倒？誰才是大腹便便的罪魁禍首？誰又會使你爛醉如泥？謎團將一一為你解開……

1. save： prep. 除了，除……外； spectacularly： 引人注目地。

2. theres no accounting for...： 無需解釋；subtle： 細微的，難以察覺的。

3. fattening： 使人發胖的。

4. hangover： 宿醉。

5. comb： 梳理；bust： 打破；myth： 錯誤的觀點，無根據的觀念。

6. pint： 品脫（液量單位，1品脫約為0.48升）；lager： 淡啤酒；medium： 中等大小的；alcohol content： 酒精含量；British unit： 英制單位。

7. 然而，醉酒是因為酒精進入到了血液中，而醉酒的速度取決于酒的類型。descent： 下降，下傾； inebriation： 酒醉，陶醉； blood stream： 血流。

8. imbibe： 喝，飲（酒等）。

9. spirit：【常加-s】烈酒（如威士忌、 白蘭地等）。

10. verdict： 裁定，結論。

11. paunch： 大肚子，啤酒肚。

12. face value： 字面含義，表面價值；beer belly： 啤酒肚。

13. pile on： 堆積。

14. moderate： 有節制的； minimal： 最低的。

15. equivalent to： 相當于；full-term：（懷孕）足月的。

16. slim： 微小的；have the edge： 占有優勢，略勝一籌。

17. formidable： 可怕的，難對付的；foe： 敵人，仇敵。

18. dehydration： 脫水；pee： 小便； byproduct： 副產品； fermentation： 發酵。

19. 這些被稱為“釀酒副產品”的有機分子給予不同酒類獨特的味道和香氣，但是它們也可能對身體有害，頭一天晚上喝得太多便會導致人們頭痛欲裂和惡心嘔吐。congener： 釀酒副產品；organic molecule： 有機分子；aroma： 芳香；throbbing： 抽痛的，跳動的；nausea： 惡心，作嘔。

20. ambiguous： 不確定的，含糊不清的。

21. bourbon： 波旁威士忌酒（一種用玉米釀成的美國威士忌酒）；crystal clear： 清澈的，明澈的；vodka： 伏特加酒（一種用麥、馬鈴薯或玉米釀制的烈性燒酒）。

22. provided： 倘若；hard stuff： 烈性酒；agony： （精神或肉體的）極度痛苦。

23. call： 判定。

24. rejuvenate： 使年輕，使更有活力；diabetes： 糖尿病。

25. 這種賦予生命活力的養料通常被認為是來自于多酚（紅酒中尤為豐富），而多酚可以消炎以及清除體內有害的化學物質。sustenance： 食物，養料；polyphenol： 多酚；soothe： 減輕，緩和；inflammation： 炎癥；mop up： 清除，掃除。

26. conspicuously： 顯著地，明顯地；bulletin： 公告，布告；fair： 尚可的，中等程度的；modest： 不太大的，適中的；akin to： 與某物相似的，與某物類似的。

27. free pass： 免費入場券；binge： 大吃大喝，狂歡作樂；in moderation： 適度地，有節制地。

28. win hands down： 輕易取勝，唾手可得。

29. edge： v.（在競賽中以微弱優勢）勝出。

30. illustrious： 著名的，杰出的。

31. anthropologist： 人類學家。

32. contemplate： 考慮，沉思。

Few drinks （save tea or coffee） divide the world so spectacularly as beer or wine.1 Theres no accounting for taste， of course—but there are subtle differences in the way they affect your body and determine your health.2 Is one more fattening3 than another？ How do their heart benefits compare？ And which gives the worse hangover4？ We have combed through the data to bust some of the myths surrounding two of the worlds favourite drinks.5

Which gets you drunk more quickly？

A pint of lager and a medium glass of wine both contain around the same alcohol content—two or three British units （16g—24g）.6 However， your descent into inebriation relies on that alcohol passing into your blood stream—and the speed at which this happens can depend on the type of drink.7

Mack Mitchell at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre recently asked a group of 15 men to imbibe8 different drinks on different days. He made sure that the alcohol content was precisely matched to their body weight—and ensured they drank the alcohol at precisely the same rate， over a 20 minute period. Unsurprisingly， spirits9 entered the blood stream quickest， leading to the highest peak in blood alcohol content—followed by wine （reaching a peak 54 minutes after drinking） and then beer （which peaked 62 minutes after the drink was finished）. In other words， a glass of wine will go to your head more quickly than a pint of beer.

Verdict10： Beer is less likely to lead to embarrassment.

Which gives you the biggest paunch11？

At face value， the myth of the beer belly should be true.12 Alcohol itself contains calories， not to mention all the sugars that make our favourite drinks so tasty. And at around 180 calories， a pint of beer has 50% more energy content than a small glass of wine—enough to cause you to pile on13 the pounds.

For moderate drinkers， however， the differences seem to be minimal.14 A recent review of studies concluded that neither wine nor beer drinkers tend to put on weight over the short-term. The authors noted， however， that the longest study had lasted just 10 weeks. The studies could have missed minor weight gain—and even 1kg over that period would eventually add up to a beer belly weighing 25kg over five years. Thats the equivalent to carrying 10 full-term babies.15

（On the plus side， the commonly held view that beer may cause men to develop breasts is almost certainly an unfounded myth.）

Verdict： Slim differences， but wine may have the edge.16

Which gives the worst hangover？

Despite their best efforts， scientists have yet to conquer the drinkers most formidable foe： the hangover.17 We dont even fully understand what causes it. Dehydration is likely to be an important factor （alcohol makes us pee more liquid than we take in） but it may also be caused by some of the byproducts of fermentation.18 Called congeners， these organic molecules give each drink its unique flavour and aroma， but they may also be toxic to the body， resulting in the throbbing head and nausea that usually follows a night of excess.19

In general， darker drinks are thought to contain more congeners. In fact， the evidence so far is ambiguous20. Although certain dark spirits like bourbon do seem to produce a worse hangover than crystal clear vodka，21 different types of beer and wine so far seem to be equal. So provided you havent turned to the hard stuff， you cant blame your choice of drink for your agony.22

Verdict： Too ambiguous to call23.

Which is better （or worse） for my health？

We are often told that a glass of wine a day could help rejuvenate the body， reducing our risk of heart disease， high blood pressure， and diabetes.24 This life-giving sustenance is thought to come from “polyphenols” （found especially in red wine） that soothe inflammation and mop up damaging chemicals in the body.25

Beer is conspicuously absent from these health bulletins， but it too contains a fair share of polyphenols， and seems to offer modest benefits， akin to white wine but less than red wine.26 Clearly， none of this gives you a free pass to binge drink， but if drank in moderation，27 a glass a day really may keep the doctor away.

Verdict： Red wine wins hands down28， but beer may be better than no drink at all.

Overall verdict： When it comes to health benefits， wine edges29 it as the best medicine. However， beer drinkers can at least respond that their drink has the more illustrious30 history. In fact， some anthropologists31 have suggested that our taste for beer might have planted the seeds of agriculture， and therefore civilisation itself. Thats something to contemplate32 the next time youre waiting at the bar.