Can Wine Before Bed Really Help You Lose Weight?

Good news for all those who prefer the Cabernet to the cardio. Drinking two glasses of wine before bed could actually be the magic pill that helps you lose weight; according to two recent studies from Washington State University and Harvard Medical School.

Here's why: Apparently, there is a polyphenol called resveratrol in red wine that turns "white fat" into "beige fat" (aka a version that is much easier to burn), says researchers at WSU. Even more crazy, the Harvard study, which examined 20,000 women over 13 years, found that those who drank two glasses of wine each day were 70 percent less likely to be overweight.

OK, so what is the meaning of night wine, you ask? Another study found that resveratrol also helps to suppress your appetite, meaning that after a glass or two of red, you are much less likely to raid the refrigerator for a late night snack. (We assume you will also sleep like a baby.)

Not inclined to keep a bottle of Merlot on your bedside table? The other main sources of resveratrol are blueberries, strawberries and (obviously) grapes. Let's have a look at that.

The bad news is that if you drink too much, alcohol interferes with your body's ability to burn fat. "Alcohol blocks the burning of everything else" Marc Hellerstein Ph.D, a professor of human nutrition at the University of California at Berkeley. "It's like she has a special VIP card to go ahead of other fuels." In other words, if your body is overwhelmed by burning alcohol, your food will be more likely to be stored In the form of fat.

Perhaps it was the secret of the night wine. By drinking it a few hours after dinner, you give your body a chance to digest it when it will not have to compete with the food. I'm not convinced Hellerstein said. "You will burn alcohol, but not fat." The bottom line: Choose your wine or weight loss.