The article is part of a series of papers published in an open forum on wine, alcohol and cardiovascular risk. The analysis, encompassing various international studies, further confirms the agreement among researchers that any alcohol, in light to moderate intake, puts drinkers at lower risk for cardiovascular disease and death than non-drinkers.

It is also known from a number of studies that wine drinkers in many cultures are from a higher socio-economic status and have a better diet than non-wine drinkers, states Professor Morten Gr nb?¦k, author of the article. This may be an important factor adding to the beneficial results of wine intake. The French are noted to have a relatively low rate of cardiovascular disease, despite high smoking rates and a typical high fat diet. The fact that the French consume more wine than Americans, for example, is a probable reason to explain this so-called paradox.

According to the article, substances in wine have been shown to share the characteristics of ethanol, which can help to prevent blood clotting, in addition to cardio-protective effects. Additional data revealed benefits from wine with regard to mortality from cancer, over other alcoholic beverages. Further evidence show that the disease fighting antioxidants present in fruit and vegetables, are also present in wine.

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Prior ODC research showed that former low-carb dieters tend to be very loyal to the diets, and that many who had discontinued low-carb dieting as of December 2004 had intentions to restart the diet in the future. The New Year would be a likely time for this to occur.

Given that the bounce does appear to be related to the time of year, it is important to continue tracking diet behavior over the next few months, in order to understand the degree to which people stay with the diet.

The findings are consistent with past results that report the low- carbohydrate diet is most popular among those between the ages of 30 and 55. There were no other significant demographic differences.

Other findings from the January survey showed carbs to be one of a number of health-related factors of concern to American consumers, with the greatest interest in total fat content (22% cited total fat as the most important factor, followed by protein content (13%). When asked to rate the importance of several different factors on a ten-point scale, fiber (7.32) and protein (7.31) received the highest overall ratings.

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