Without alcohol, red wine is still beneficial
Drinking red wine may help lower blood pressure, but a new study from Spain suggests that alcohol is not the reason.
In a small randomised clinical trial, 67 men ages 55 to 75 who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease were assigned to daily drinks: four weeks drinking 1 ounce of gin, 10 ounces of red wine or 10 ounces of nonalcoholic red wine. All the men tried the three programmes in succession.
When the men drank gin, they experienced no change in blood pressure. With red wine, there was a slight but statistically insignificant lowering. But with nonalcoholic red wine, the men saw a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The study, published last week in Circulation Research, concludes that the blood-pressure-lowering effects of red wine are attributable not to its alcohol content, but to the beneficial chemicals called polyphenols that it contains, even in its nonalcoholic form.
In fact, they suggested alcohol may limit the beneficial effect of the polyphenols.
"There have been many studies that show the cardiovascular benefits of drinking red wine," said the lead author, Gemma Chiva-Branch, a doctoral candidate at the University of Barcelona. "Our study pertains only to blood pressure. If you want to control blood pressure, drinking nonalcoholic red wine may be one good dietary measure you could take."
Nicholas Bakalar
Drinking red wine may help lower blood pressure, but a new study from Spain suggests that alcohol is not the reason.
In a small randomised clinical trial, 67 men ages 55 to 75 who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease were assigned to daily drinks: four weeks drinking 1 ounce of gin, 10 ounces of red wine or 10 ounces of nonalcoholic red wine. All the men tried the three programmes in succession.
When the men drank gin, they experienced no change in blood pressure. With red wine, there was a slight but statistically insignificant lowering. But with nonalcoholic red wine, the men saw a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The study, published last week in Circulation Research, concludes that the blood-pressure-lowering effects of red wine are attributable not to its alcohol content, but to the beneficial chemicals called polyphenols that it contains, even in its nonalcoholic form.
In fact, they suggested alcohol may limit the beneficial effect of the polyphenols.
"There have been many studies that show the cardiovascular benefits of drinking red wine," said the lead author, Gemma Chiva-Branch, a doctoral candidate at the University of Barcelona. "Our study pertains only to blood pressure. If you want to control blood pressure, drinking nonalcoholic red wine may be one good dietary measure you could take."
Nicholas Bakalar