To Your Health: Benefits of Red Wine

Is a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir your guilty pleasure after a grueling day's work? If your goal is a healthy, fit body, a red-wine habit is not the worst vice in the world.

A series of scientific studies have established that certain compounds in the crimson-colored varietals may actually benefit your health. But how beneficial is it, and how much (or how little) should one drink to get the full health effect?

"It's thought that red wine, despite the alcohol content, also has helpful properties, like resveratrol and other polyphenols," says Barbara Shukitt-Hale, a research psychologist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

Polyphenols are chemical compounds found in the skin of grapes and other plants. These compounds act as "antioxidants" -- the vitamins, minerals and enzymes in foods that protect the cells in your body from damage caused by the normal process of metabolism and ward off chronic disease. Resveratrol is a type of polyphenol found in red wine.

You could say that each serving that you have of a fruit or a vegetable — or perhaps a glass of wine — is beneficial, Shukitt-Hale reasons, as long as you don't forget that wine is alcohol, and you need to drink responsibly.

"You don't want to have seven glasses of red wine a day instead of seven servings of fruits and vegetables," she cautions.

One of most widely documented benefits of red wine is heart health. A pivotal study published several years ago in journal Nature found that red wine inhibited the synthesis of a protein called endothelin-1 that can lead to the development of atherosclerosis, a build-up of fatty material along the artery walls.

The study helped to explain why people in France have a relatively low incidence of heart disease despite a diet rich in saturated fats, a phenomenon known as the "French Paradox." Since then, other studies have shown that polyphenols in red wine, such as resveratrol, have cardioprotective effects, says the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes on Aging reported, for example, that mice fed a high-fat diet plus a daily dose of resveratrol, outlived their counterparts who did not get resveratrol in their diet.

In another recent study, British researchers found that red wines with higher levels of procyanidins, a type of polyphenol, have protective effects on blood vessels.

There's evidence that drinking red wine has other beneficial effects as well. Researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook found a 68 percent reduction in the incidence of colorectal cancers and abnormal growths that can become cancerous among red wine drinkers.

And what's good for the body may be medicine for the mind. Early research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City on the effects of feeding Cabernet Sauvignon to mice suggests that moderate wine consumption may help prevent the sticky plaque build-up in the brain that is characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.

Wine is fine, but what about just plain, old grape juice? Shukitt-Hale and colleagues studied cognitive and motor function using Concord grape juice, another good source of polyphenols. Compared with a placebo, rats that drank 10 percent grape juice showed improvements in brain communication and cognitive performance, while those who consumer 50 percent grape juice exhibited improvements in motor function.

"These findings suggest that, in addition to their know beneficial effect on cancer and heart disease, polyphenolics present in foods may be beneficial in reserving the course of neuronal and behavioral aging," she explains, although she cannot say for sure how these results would apply to human until a human study is conducted.

Despite the mounting body of research, Lisa Dorfman, a sports nutritionist, adjunct professor and national media spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, isn't convinced that drinking red wine is either the best way for women to de-stress or to get their daily dose of phytonutrients. For one thing, alcohol adds calories to the diet and saps a woman's body of B vitamins and other minerals.

"I wouldn't start drinking to protect my heart," she says. "I would exercise and eat well first." After all, a diet rich in fruits and veggies packs a whole lot more health benefit, including vitamins, minerals and fiber, than a glass of red wine, Dorfman points out.

She suggests that women eat colorful, nutrient dense meals. But that doesn't mean that they can't have a little splurge now and then. One strategy is to reserve a fraction of your day's calories for fun foods. "If that includes a glass of wine," she says, "then so be it."

Resources

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has more information on the health benefits of polyphenols found in red wine and other plant-based sources.

SOURCES: Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., research psychologist, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston; Lisa Dorfman, M.S., R.D., CSSD, LMHC, sports nutritionist and adjunct professor, University of Miami, and national media spokesperson, American Dietetic Association; HealthDay News: Dec. 20, 2001, Nature; July 2005, Journal of the American Dietetic Association Nov. 20, 2006, Nature; Oct.23, 2006, presentation, American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting, Las Vegas; Mount Sinai Medical Center, news release, Sept. 18, 2006