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Red wine has potential health benefits

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Individuals looking to lower the results of their cholesterol tests should consider drinking more red wine, especially non-alcoholic red wine, according to new studies.

The first study, from the Rhode Island and the Miriam hospitals, shows that the blood flow of pigs whose food had been mixed with red wine for seven weeks improved vastly, compared to a group of animals that consumed vodka, and another set of pigs that were not given alcohol. All three groups were fed a diet high in fat.

"There has been previous research touting the benefits of moderate consumption of wine, but we wanted to test the effects of both wine and vodka in conjunction with high cholesterol as those who would be in this at-risk patient population typically have other medical issues, such as high cholesterol" said head researcher Frank Sellke.

High scores on cholesterol tests could indicate a risk of stroke. The same can be said of high blood pressure, which could possibly also be decreased by the polyphenols present in red wine, especially non-alcoholic red wine. Another study from the journal Circulation Research consisted of almost 70 men at high risk for heart disease drinking 30 grams of certain beverages for 28 days. Alcoholic red wine was connected with an only incremental drop in blood pressure, while the benefit of non-alcoholic red wine was shown to be much greater.