By Edward J. Thomas –
There is no argument that excessive drinking can increase health risks and even contribute to alcohol use disorder. However, new research confirms what many have argued for decades if not centuries–Europeans confirm wine is heart-healthy. In fact, a glass of wine now and again has its benefits.
A wide-ranging European research wine recently reported that light and moderate consumption of wine might cut the risk of cardiovascular complications by up to 50 percent. The research, published in the European Heart Journal, was based on the analysis of a biomarker of wine intake, specifically tartaric acid that is present in grapes. The study involved more than 1,200 participants in the PREDIMED project, a major scientific epidemiological study in nutrition on the effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular health.
“There is no doubt that excessive alcohol consumption has serious health consequences. However, the effects of moderate and responsible wine consumption are still the subject of debate in the scientific community. The results of this study and others should help to place moderate wine consumption in its rightful place as an element of the Mediterranean diet, considered to be the healthiest in the world,” the research team reported.
The study acknowledged the ongoing controversy and debate over the health effects of moderate alcoholic consumption in general and wine in particular. The European researcher, however, claims their approach has addressed the ongoing dispute, at least as it relates to wine.
“Part of this debate is due to conflicting results of studies that have pointed to a protective effect of wine, while others have found no such effect,” noted University of Barcelona Professor Ramon Estruch, one of the study’s principal authors. These differences could be explained by possible errors in wine consumption records, he suggested.
“Epidemiological studies assessing the role of wine in the rate of cardiovascular events are often based on self-reported information on wine consumption. These are reliable data, but subject to measurement errors due to inaccurate recall or biased perceptions about the social desirability of drinking alcoholic beverages,” Estruch said.
The European research team responded to this challenge by measuring wine consumption through food intake frequency surveys, which the team confirmed with an objective biomarker: the concentration found in urine of tartaric acid, a molecule produced mainly in grapes and rarely synthesized by other plant species.
The data analysis revealed that light wine consumption—between one glass per week and less than half a glass per day—reduces the risk of having a cardiovascular complication by 38 percent. The risk reduction goes to 50 percent for moderate consumption—between half a glass and one glass per day.
The team stressed that exceeding more than one drink per day eliminates any benefits. The researchers also stressed that moderate wine consumption involves drinking with meals and never between meals.
Even given this report, there is no debate on the potential health risks that alcohol consumption presents. It can increase the risk of cancer, obesity, strokes, depression, dementia and more as WellWell has repeatedly reported.
