A glass of wine with dinner may do more than just help you unwind; it may also make you healthier. A subject of ongoing research, wine protects against lung and prostate cancer, but is most well known for its heart-protective effects. Light to moderate consumption of wine -- red wine in particular -- is associated with a reduced risk of death from coronary heart disease.
Polyphenols
Red wine contains a group of compounds known as polyphenols that are responsible for some of wine's protective effects. The Queen Mary School of Medicine in London published a study in 2001 in the journal "Nature" showing that polyphenols in wine decreased the rate of production of endothelin-1, a protein molecule that can cause blood vessels to thicken. This vessel thickening can lead to atherosclerosis and can aggravate any heart disease that already exists.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids are one specific and crucial type of polyphenol in red wine. These polyphenols act as antioxidants and play a role in reducing myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury, the damage caused when blood flow returns to affected tissue after a heart attack. Resveratrol, quercetin and proanthocyanidins are the flavonoids most active in red wine. Resveratrol and quercetin are in the skin of the grape, and proanthocyanidins are in the seeds. Though grapes and grape juice both contain these compounds, red wine is much more potent source, supplying twice as many as regular grape juice.
Alcohol
While the compounds found in red wine promote heart health, the alcohol itself also protects the heart. At a rate of one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, most alcoholic beverages have the ability to increase the body's levels of good cholesterol, also known as high-density lipoproteins, or HDL. Alcohol also keeps platelets from forming clots that can lead to atherosclerosis and heart attack, and helps break down clots that have already formed.
Risks
In order to obtain the health benefits red wine has to offer, consume it in moderation. Drinking more than one or two drinks a day for women and men, respectively, can increase risk for alcoholism, high blood pressure, breast cancer, stroke, obesity, suicide and accidents. For these reasons, the American Heart Association recommends that individuals not start drinking alcohol if they do not do so already.
References
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Wine-A Drink to Your Health?; Tony Peregrin; July 2005
- "Coronary Artery Disease"; Alcohol, Ischemic Heart Disease, and the French Paradox; J. Constant; 1997
- "American Heart Association"; Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease; June 2011
- "Drugs Under Experimental and Clinical Research"; Cardioprotection of Red Wine: Role of Polyphenolic Antioxidants; Das DK, et al.; 1999
