White wine: Don’t drink to that!

Despite its refreshing taste, white wine contains more sugar and sulphites than red, rosé, beer and many spirits.

And it slips down easily, despite being 13 per cent alcohol, meaning we drink far more of it than we realize. Here’s want to watch out for in white wine:

ROSACEA

Research by Brown University found that even small amounts of white wine can increase your chances of developing rosacea.

A study of 83,000 women showed that just one to three glasses a month raises the risk of the inflammatory skin condition by 14 per cent. Five or more white wines a week upped that to 49 per cent.

Dr. Nick Lowe, consultant dermatologist at the Cranley Clinic in London, believes white wine is a “vasodilator” — it widens the blood vessels in the skin.

“When you enlarge the blood vessels, your facial redness increases,” he says. “All people will get it from alcohol to a degree, but some are genetically predisposed to be blushers or flushers.”

There is also a chance, he says, that consuming too much white wine encourages the growth of a skin mite called Demodex folliculorum, known to exacerbate rosacea.

WEIGHT GAIN

Drink Aware says one 175-mL (6-oz) glass contains 160 calories, similar to a slice of Madeira cake.

A large glass (250 mL/9 oz) with 228 calories is the equivalent of an ice-cream cone. A bottle equals two chocolate croissants, or 680 calories.

Light whites such as Pinot Grigio and Riesling have fewer calories than drier whites with higher alcohol, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

One study in 2014 showed regular wine drinkers consume more than 2,000 liquid calories a month, with alcohol contributing to around 10 per cent of their total calorie count.

Drink Aware says “alcohol reduces the amount of fat your body burns for energy. While we can store nutrients, protein, carbohydrates, and fat in our bodies, we can’t store alcohol.

So our systems want to get rid of it and doing so takes priority. All the other processes that should be taking place … are interrupted.”

LIVER DISEASE

Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, says there’s been a 400 per cent increase in liver disease over the past 30 years, and places some blame on the calorific quality of white wine.

“Consuming too many calories has an unhealthy effect on the liver, causing fatty deposits and liver disease.

“Working women who go out for a couple of drinks with colleagues and then have a couple more because they believe it helps them sleep — a complete fallacy — are particularly at risk.”

SKIN CANCER

A study by Brown University, published in 2016, found that white-wine lovers have a 13 per cent higher risk of developing the skin cancer melanoma than drinkers of other types of alcohol.

One theory puts the discrepancy down to a compound in alcohol called acetaldehyde.

This can damage our DNA and prevent its repair, and research has shown high levels of it in wine.

And while red varieties contain antioxidants, which are thought to mitigate the effects, white does not.

Lowe says: “It is possible there is a link but it is much more complicated than we think.”

He says other lifestyle factors typically associated with drinking — increased time spent outdoors, a suppressed immune system, poor diet and smoking — may notch up the risk.