Flu season is coming, time to get your…bottle of wine?

After getting my flu shot the other day I came across an article that says a chemical in red wine may reduce the risk of contracting influenza.  The article on Wine Spectator dot com was referencing a study in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (click to read the full abstract). The study preformed at the University of South Carolina looked at the ability of Quercetin (12.5mg) to reduce the risk of contracting influenza after exercise induced stress. Heavy exercise reduces the body’s ability to fight infectious diseases such as the flu.  Quercetin is found in a variety of fruits and vegetables including red wine, which contains about 8.4mg per kilogram so there around 6.4mg in a bottle of wine.  Of course mice were used in this study and us humans are much bigger, but I much rather drink two bottles of wine that get a flu shot any day.

 

Cheers!