One big question when it comes to health or calories is whether red wine or white wine is the better choice. The antioxidants found in red or white wine can vary widely depending on the year and region in which the wine was produced. However, two other beneficial components of wine remain relatively consistent: potassium, which helps maintain fluid balance in the body, and alcohol, which may help raise "good" HDL cholesterol, reduce risk of blood clots, and lower blood pressure.
Despite these positive health benefits from red and white wine, red does have an advantage over white wine with its high concentration of the antioxidant – resveratrol. The concentration of resveratrol in red wine is significantly higher than that of white wine. The main reason for this can be traced back to the difference between red and white wine production, where in the case of red wine, in addition to the grape itself, the skins and seeds are involved in the process, while white wine is mainly prepared from the juice, essentially avoiding the use of grape skins and seeds which contain this antioxidant.
If you are more concerned with calories you can see from the comparison label displayed below that either type of wine will offer almost the same amount of calories per oz. Although the standard serving at a restaurant will be approximately 5 oz, be sure to take a close look at how much you pour in your large red wine glass at home. You can very easily be getting more calories than you think. The key to obtaining benefits from drinking wine is enjoying it in moderation (i.e. no more than one and two glasses per day for women and men, respectively).
Rebecca
