Drink wine with food, never alone - the Mediterranean rule

If you drink alcohol, follow the Mediterranean pattern: moderate red wine (1-2 glasses), always with a meal, always with other people. Never drink alone. Never binge. Sardinians drink Cannonau wine, which has 2-3 times the flavonoid content of other wines.

Why It Works

French cardiologists now say the "French Paradox" is less about wine chemistry and more about the ritual surrounding it: social connection, slow eating, diverse foods, and consistent moderation. The wine industry turned this into a marketing campaign, but the science points to context, not content. Eastern Europe drinks more alcohol per capita than France, yet has the world's highest CVD - because the pattern is binge drinking of spirits, alone or in bars, without food. The Mediterranean rule (moderate, with food, with people) and the Eastern European pattern (heavy, without food, in binges) produce opposite cardiovascular outcomes.

Tips

• If you don't currently drink, the evidence does not support starting for heart health
• Sardinian Cannonau wine's higher flavonoid content may explain its particular benefit
• The social and dietary context of drinking appears to matter more than the alcohol itself