Two glasses of red wine on a table in a winery.
Image Credit: Cineberg/iStock/Getty Images Red grapes, the primary ingredient in red wine, are full of all kinds of vitamins and minerals. Some of those micronutrients get passed on to red wine, but you wouldn’t want to rely on red wine to increase the micronutrients in your diet. An average 5-ounce glass of red wine has less than 10 percent of the recommended amounts of many vitamins and minerals.
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Amount of Manganese
The only significant type of mineral in red wine is manganese, a trace mineral. Manganese protects cells that are vulnerable to oxidative stress and free radicals by neutralizing the damaging compounds. It even has a role in running your metabolism, developing bone cartilage and healing wounds. As a man, you require 2.3 milligrams of manganese every day. But if you are female, you’ll need 1.8 milligrams, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine states. One 5-ounce glass of red wine provides about 0.2 milligrams, or 9 to 11 percent of your recommendation, depending on your gender.
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Other Minerals
The other minerals in red wine are found in very low levels of less than 10 percent of the recommendations. Red wine has trace amounts of minerals that function as bone-building nutrients, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and fluoride. You’ll get a healthy dose of the electrolytes potassium and sodium, both of which are required for maintaining muscle and heart functions. Several minerals in red wine, such as copper, manganese, zinc and selenium, act as antioxidants. They scour your body looking for damaging free radicals that try to destroy healthy cells. Red wine even has a bit of iron, to help improve oxygen transportation to cells.
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B Vitamins
You’ll get trace amounts of the majority of B vitamins from red wine. Red vino has thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, choline and B-6. The B vitamins run your metabolism, the series of biochemical reactions that pull energy – in the form of calories – out of the food you eat. Many of the B vitamins have additional roles, too, including forming new red blood cells, protecting brain cells and supporting your neurological system.
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Additional Vitamins
Red wine has minute amounts of just two other vitamins – A and K. Vitamin A keeps the membranes around your eyes healthy, so your vision stays strong. You also need vitamin A to help bones grow and to keep your skin in optimal condition. Vitamin K’s primary job is to run a series of steps that make blood coagulate. It’s because of vitamin K that wounds stop bleeding and scabs form when you have an injury. Red wine should not be considered a significant source of any of these vitamins, however.
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references
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: Alcoholic Beverage, Wine, Table, Red
Harvard Medical School: Listing of Vitamins
Linus Pauling Institute: Manganese
references
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: Alcoholic Beverage, Wine, Table, Red
Harvard Medical School: Listing of Vitamins
Linus Pauling Institute: Manganese
Two glasses of red wine on a table in a winery.
Image Credit: Cineberg/iStock/Getty Images
Image Credit: Cineberg/iStock/Getty Images
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference: Alcoholic Beverage, Wine, Table, Red
Harvard Medical School: Listing of Vitamins
Linus Pauling Institute: Manganese
