Can red wine really help you get pregnant?

Ladies, a recent US study has found that '5 or more glasses of red wine per month had only a positive effect on women's fertility' - so is this cause to relax and celebrate with a bottle of Rioja? 

Unfortunately not.  As well as being vague about the number of glasses recommended (after all, '5 or more' has no upper limit!) the research goes on to emphasise that it's the antioxidant content of the red wine that is the important factor and we know that antioxdants can come from many, non-alcoholic, sources like blueberries, red grapes and cocoa.  The antioxidant involved is called Resvertrol and is better consumed via good quality dark chocolate and a bowl of berries.  Wine, as well as containing alcohol, is made from grapes which is a crop known to be most highly exposed to chemicals in the form of toxic fertilisers. 

That doesn't mean you should never drink wine.  In my opinion sticking to the guidelines (two glasses of wine per week) is fine and if you can get organic wine, even better.  We all need to celebrate, relax and socialise and to try and stop life happening while you're trying to conceive only leads to stress and resentment.

But be careful what you read ... headlines like this can be misleading and we're all guilty of only heeding the parts we really want to hear.  This study was small (135 women) and there are lots of other factors involved.  I love red wine as much as the next person but stick to adage of 'everything in moderation' and you'll be on the right track.