Drinking red wine boosts fertility in women, study finds

One glass each week could support ovarian reserve

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Women who drink one glass of red wine a week boast better fertility than those who don’t, a US study has found.

Scientists at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, believe that this could be due to an antioxidant that is abundant in the wine.

Known as resveratrol, the molecule is a key component in red grapes, cocoa and blueberries and protects cells from biological stress, The Times reports.

The physicians involved in the study surveyed 135 women between the ages of 18 and 44, each of whom kept an alcohol diary, noting how much they consumed every month.

During this period the scientists also conducted regular ultrasound scans on each of the women to calculate how many remaining viable eggs they had.

They found that those who regularly consumed red wine, regardless of other factors such as age and income, had a better ovarian reserve.

However, the study’s results don’t mean that all hopeful babymakers should reach for the red every evening.

The research only showed benefits to fertility for women who drank moderate amounts of red wine i.e. five or more glasses each month.

Experts have also been quick to point out that the results should be considered with caution, as the study hadn’t proved that the wine was solely responsibly for the fertility boost in participants.

Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, told The Times that the research was “interesting,” but insisted that further studies would be necessary in order to prove the findings.

“This is an interesting study, albeit with a small sample size which means that it doesn’t reach statistical significance.

“However, the exposure of the developing foetus to alcohol may cause irreversible developmental damage, so alcohol consumption should be less than six units [roughly two large glasses of wine] per week for women wishing to conceive.”