Red wine consumption decreases cardiovascular risk

Although red wine contains a number of naturally occurring antioxidants, research from Spain indicates that resveratrol found in red wine may help protect against cardiovascular disease in high-risk subjects. 

In a study conducted at the University of Barcelona in Spain, researchers evaluated the association between red wine consumption and cardiovascular disease in 1,000 subjects. It was found that higher levels of red wine consumption were associated with improvements in HDL, triglycerides and heart rate. In addition, improvements were observed in fasting blood glucose and triglyceride levels as well as heart rate.

In another study in Spain involving 75 stable coronary artery disease patients who were already receiving standard statin therapy, it was found that subjects receiving grape extract with resveratrol showed an increase in anti-inflammatory serum adiponectin levels and a decrease in inflammatory thrombogenic plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1.

Meanwhile, at the University of Pécs Medical School in Hungaria, researchers evaluated the effects of 10 mg per day of resveratrol for three months in 40 patients with stable coronary artery disease who had already suffered at least one myocardial infarction.

After three months, patients receiving resveratrol showed significant improvement in left ventricular diastolic function, endothelial function and serum LDL levels. In addition, the unfavorable changes in red blood cell deformability and platelet aggregation were not observed. The study authors concluded that their findings suggest “resveratrol intake via red wine consumption might help decrease cardiovascular risk factors.”