I’m The Founder Of Blue Zones & These Are My 6 Favorite Foods For Longevity

The wine conversation is a little more nuanced. See, Buettner doesn’t say you should start drinking if it doesn’t work for your body or lifestyle. Rather, if you do incorporate alcohol into your lifestyle, “having two glasses of wine or so per day is probably a net positive,” he says. 

Of course, you’ll want to stick to a Blue Zones-inspired diet—you can’t just expect to pour a glass of red wine and think the polyphenol content will cut it. But with a healthy, balanced diet, Buettner touts the benefits. 

“There’s actually some arguments that wine is better than water with the right kind of meal,” he explains. Research has found that participants who drank five ounces of dry red wine every night (along with a nutrient-dense Mediterranean diet) had increased levels of good HDL cholesterol and sleep quality compared to participants who drank water. 

That’s not to say you should swap your daily water intake for wine, but it does demonstrate the benefits of drinking a glass alongside a healthy meal—bonus points if you’re able to (safely) host happy hour with loved ones, too.