Red
wine reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke
According to a Spanish study, each glass of red wine
consumed daily decreases the risk of lung cancer by
13 percent (two glasses, 26 percent). On the other
hand, each glass of white wine consumed dally increases
risk of lung cancer by 20 percent. These conclusions
are based on a study of 136 hospitalized cases of
lung cancer and 187 controls admitted to the hospital
for minor surgery. Questions were also asked about
smoking and consumption of beer, wine (red, white,
rose), and various spirits (whiskey, gin, rum, brandy,
etc). Aside from red and white wines, no relation
of the other alcoholic drinks to lung cancer was found.
Red wine blocks a cellular compound thought to be
a key factor in heart disease, a new study finds1,
bolstering claims that red wine carries more health
benefits than other alcoholic beverages.
The finding may help explain why the French, who
often drink red wine with meals, appear to have a
lower risk of heart disease than people in Britain
despite eating a similar amount of saturated fat -
a phenomenon known as the 'French paradox'.
Epidemiological studies have suggested that red-wine
consumption lowers heart disease risk. How has been
a matter of speculation, says Tony Turner, a molecular
biologist at the University of Leeds, UK.
"There has been much in the news about the benefits
of red wine, but it has been largely hearsay, and
much of it contradictory," he says. "This
paper provides a first look at a mechanism underlying
red wine's protective effect."
The study suggests that non-alcoholic extracts from
red wine inhibit the formation of endothelin-1, a
chemical that makes blood vessels constrict. Compounds
that block endothelin-1 may reduce the formation of
fatty streaks in blood vessels and decrease heart
attack risks.
White and rosé wines had no effect on
the production of endothelin-1. This implies that
the active ingredients are polyphenols - compounds
from grape skins found only in red wines.
Uncovering this mechanism gives researchers a way
to calculate the amount of red wine that provides
the greatest benefit, says Roger Corder of Queen Mary
University of London, a member of the team that performed
the study. "If you can measure endothelin synthesis
in volunteers after consumption of red wine, you can
establish the ideal quantity to consume," he
says.
The study was performed on cultured cow heart cells.
More research is needed to understand whether the
mechanism is important in humans, cautions David Webb,
who studies endothelin at the University of Edinburgh.
But, he adds, the study found that even very small
amounts of red wine extracts - well within the quantities
that a moderate drinker would consume - have a powerful
impact on endothelin production. "The potency
suggests it might be a real effect in humans,"
he says.
Heart of the matter
The health benefits of wine have also been attributed
to the antioxidant effects of polyphenols. Antioxidants,
such as vitamins C and E, are thought to reduce the
formation of fatty plaques in blood vessels.
But recent large-scale epidemiological studies have
failed to find health benefits from antioxidants.
Says Corder: "I think there has been an unnecessary
emphasis on antioxidants in red wine."
There is also evidence that red wine dilates blood
vessels and stops red blood cells from clumping. These
effects may be independent, or they may be a consequence
of the newly discovered suppression of endothelin-1,
Webb says. "It may be that this is not just another
contributory benefit but the heart of the process."
