Weekly Wine Drinking May Protect Mental Health

Drinking wine weekly may not help protect the heart, it can also help protect a person's mental health, according to a study released Friday.

The researchers from Spain found out that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, especially wine, was linked to lower instances and risks of depression, as published in the journal BMC Medicine.

For older men and women, consuming two to seven small glasses of wine weekly may lower their risks of suffering from depression by at least 32%.

Results of this current study appear to have contradicted past researchers which often linked alcohol drinking with an increased risk of depression.

Past researchers explained that these risks may be due to the fact that people might choose to drink more alcohol to cover up their depressive symptoms. People might also turn to alcohol as means of coping with other problems.

The current research's findings may be in conflict with past researchers because "the new study did not include people who previously had depression, or people known to have drinking problems," said Dr. Miguel Martinez Gonzalez, cardiologist and professor of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Navarra in Pamplona.

"In our study population, the average intake of alcohol was low and the pattern of consumption was typically Mediterranean, with alcohol coming preferentially from wine, consumed during meals and without episodes of binge drinking," he said.