White wine doesn't get as much positive press as its cousin red wine, though it may have many of the same benefits, MayoClinic.com states. Although low in carbohydrates and devoid of nutrients such as protein and fat, white wine may still have a number of positive health benefits when consumed in moderation.
Calories and Nutrients
A 6-oz. glass of dry white wine contains 115 calories, according to the website, Professional Friends of Wine. If you consume an average 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, a glass of white wine supplies just less than 6 percent of your daily calorie intake. Of the calorie in white wine, a small amount -- around 1.35 g -- comes from carbohydrate. Since 1 g of carbohydrate supplies 4 calories, around 5 of the calories in wine come from carbohydrate. White wine contains no fat and only 0.14 g of protein. Most of the calories in white wine come from alcohol, which supplies 7 calories per g. Sweeter wines generally have slightly more calories than dry wines.
Vitamins and Minerals
White wine contains an insignificant amount of most vitamins and minerals. One glass supplies less than 1 percent of your daily recommended allowance of the B-complex vitamins B-1, or thiamine, B-2, or riboflavin and B-3, also known as niacin. A serving also contains 4 percent of your daily magnesium requirement and 1.2 percent of your choline needs.
Nutrition Risks
Alcohol can have negative effects on the absorption of certain nutrients. It blocks the absorption of folate, a B-complex vitamin, and inactivates it within tissues. Low folate levels can increase the risk of neural tube defects in the fetus during pregnancy and may also increase the risk of breast cancer and other cancers, the Harvard School of Public Health reports. Metabolism of alcohol in the liver also uses up other B-complex vitamins, including niacin, thiamine and B-12, and can also deplete vitamin A stores, according to the Life Extension Office at Morehead State University. Mineral such as magnesium, zinc and potassium may be depleted through increased urination.
Benefits
Although white wine contains the same antioxidants found to have cardiovascular benefit in red wine, it contains smaller amounts. While red wine contains between 900 to 2,500 mg/L of phenolics and 1 mg/L of resveratrol, two antioxidants that can help protects cells from damage caused by free radicals; white wine contains much less, 190 to 290 mg/L of phenolics and 0.2 mg/L of resveratrol. Any type of alcohol, including white wine, appears to reduce platelet aggregation, or stickiness, which can reduce the risk of clot formation in arteries that can lead to heart attack or stroke, the American Heart Association reports. If you do drink white wine, have no more than two glasses per day if you are a man and one glass of a day if you are a woman.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health; Alcohol: Balancing Risks and Benefits; 2011
- Morehead State University; Alcohol and Nutrition; July 2002
- Professional Friends of Wine; Wine and Health ; January 2011
- "Circulation;" A Science Advisory for Healthcare Professionals From the Nutrition Committee, Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, and Council on Cardiovascular Nursing of the American Heart Association; I. Goldberg, M.D., et al.; 2001
- MayoClinic.com; Red Wine and Resveratrol: Good for your Heart? March 2011
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