Drinking at least one glass of red wine each week could boost a woman's fertility, a new study has found.
Scientists believe that this could be because red wine is rich in resveratrol, an antioxidant found in the skins of grapes, blueberries and raspberries.
The Times reports that researchers at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri examined the link between alcohol consumption and female fertility by asking 135 women aged between 18 and 44 to keep a diary of everything they drank each month.
They found that women who drank at least five glasses of red wine tended to have a greater ovarian reserve, or "bank" of eggs, even after age and wealth differences were factored in.
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Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Service, told The Times that the study's results are "interesting" but said that it "doesn't reach statistical significance" because of the small number of women involved.
He also warned women who are trying to become pregnant not to consume too much red wine, saying: "The exposure of the developing foetus to alcohol may cause irreversible developmental damage, so alcohol consumption should be less than six units [roughly two large glasses of wine] per week for women wishing to conceive."
This isn't the first time scientists have found a potential link between red wine and fertility. Last year, scientists from the University of California published research suggesting that red wine's resveratrol content could reduce a woman's risk of developing PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).
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