Study Finds Moderate Wine Consumption May Benefit Heart Health

While both moderate wine drinking and a Mediterranean diet may reduce heart disease risk, experts urge caution about excessive alcohol use, since it could cause harm to health.

New research states that drinking wine in very small quantities may protect against heart diseases when this effort is combined with following a daily plant-based Mediterranean diet. This research has been done in Spain and particularly studied people aged over 60 years who have been identified to be at risk for their heart- diseases. It was found that people who drank half to one glass of wine daily had 50% lower chances of having any cardiovascular event such as heart attacks and strokes as compared to those who never drank alcohol.

Study reveals wine's positive impact on the Mediterranean diet, which includes heart-healthy foods and beverages. Experts caution that excessive wine negates these benefits. Professor Ramon Estruch notes that moderate wine consumption may provide more advantages to the Mediterranean diet than previously recognized.

Anyhow, the studies do bother critics that alcohol has got ill sides too. Tracy Parker, who is a dietitian from the British Heart Foundation, further said that moderate consumption of wine has the potential of limiting cardiovascular risks but overconsumption directly affects the heart adversely. It can even lead to increased high blood pressure, vascular dementia, and liver disease.

It measured tartaric acid, a chemical present both in wine and grapes, to measure wine consumption, which becomes a good measure other than self-reporting. Finding out that result might present an association and not a causal one, experts believe that healthy eating and active lifestyles are much more important for healthy living than relying on wines and other food and drinks.

For now, it means moderation when it comes to thinking about the utility of wine in heart health.