Drinking one glass of red wine in a week can boost fertility in women than those who don't, revealed a new US study. Researchers at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, believe that the reason behind this is the presence of an antioxidant, known as resveratrol that is present in abundance in red wine.
They surveyed 135 women between the age of 18 and 44 who kept a diary and noted how much they consumed every month.
During this time period, scientists conducted regular ultrasound scans on each of the women in order to calculate how many remaining viable eggs they had. It was found that those who regularly consumed red wine, irrespective of other factors had a better ovarian reserve.
However, it doesn't mean that people planning to have a baby should have red wine every evening. According to the research, it only showed benefits for women who drank red wine in moderate amounts i.e. five or more glasses each month.
Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society, told The Times: "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," Balen added.
Last year, a published research from the University of California suggested that the resveratrol found in red wine may help in reducing a woman's risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Even in this study, the researchers found when red wine was taken in a moderate amount it helped in addressing the hormone imbalance in women with PCOS.
