Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
The month of Valentine’s Day is upon us, so I thought an article focused on red wine and health would be timely…and wine not? But, no, really. I’m sure we’ve all seen the articles proclaiming that wine is good for your heart and that everyone needs a good dose of resveratrol. Can it really be true? Before you start wine-ing and thinking I'm taking your red wine away...let’s see what the research says!
Resveratrol is a polyphenol in red wine that was made popular by the studies of several researchers. One researcher, in particular, that is cited a lot by the wine and supplement industry, is Dr. Depak Dias. He was a professor at the University of Connecticut Cardiovascular Research Center and a professor in the surgery department. He was considered an expert in his field and often spoke at conferences. In 2012 the university notified scientific journals about fraud in eleven of his studies.[1] He was also found guilty of over 145 counts of fabricating data.[2] These studies were used to support the idea the red wine promotes heart health. You’ll find interesting claims about wine in articles such as “The Best Types of Wine for Heart Health” which is fraught with reductionism and the cherry-picking of data.[3]
A double blind, placebo controlled study also showed that polyphenols in red wine do not lower blood pressure.[5] Participants were given either 280mg of polyphenols or 560mg; the equivalent of 2-3 glasses of wine. The alcohol was removed because it can cause an increase in blood pressure. The participants who consumed 560mg had a statistically insignificant decrease in blood pressure, while those who consumed 280mg had no change whatsoever.
While polyphenols are a vital part of a healthy diet, resveratrol, in itself, doesn’t contain magical properties. You won’t find resveratrol as a singular ingredient of any plant in nature…it always comes in combination with other compounds and is meant to be consumed that way. You can find resveratrol in many different plants including grapes, blueberries, cranberries, cocoa, and peanuts. It functions much the same way in your body as it does in plants. It is an antioxidant, meaning that it can help to neutralize free radicals that damage your cells.[4]
Unfortunately, many people love to hear good news about their bad habits and are under the misconception that they are either helping their health by drinking a glass of wine a day, or at least not causing as much damage as they really are. In the Heart Health Study, 30% of the participants thought that red wine was good for their heart and 80% of them said they got their information from the media.[6] On top of that, the people who believed that alcohol was beneficial to their health drank an average of 47% more alcohol than those that didn’t. This unfortunate statistic goes to show, once again, that it is so important that we learn how to digest the information that comes at us and not make decisions based on article headlines or the story and experience of our best friend.
If you shouldn’t source your polyphenols from wine, then what are you to do? Grapes are a delicious whole food that don't have to be fermented to be an excellent source of polyphenols, including resveratrol. Green tea can also be an excellent choice to harness the power of antioxidants.
Am I saying you should never drink red wine? Not at all! I, myself, enjoy red wine on occasion. However, my point is that we shouldn’t do it because we think we are going to get some amazing health benefits from it. Sadly, this just isn’t the case. If red wine is your thing, put it in its place, and enjoy it as a treat to celebrate special occasions. I'll leave you with this cheesy sentence...“It’d be better to wine a little and laugh a lot.” I’ll cheers to that!
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[1] University of Connecticut. Scientific journals notified following research misconduct investigation [press release]. January 11, 2012.
[2] University of Connecticut Health Center. Special review board report investigation of allegation of research misconduct office of research integrity case #DIO 3995. Accessed January 13, 2012.
[4] Pham-Huy LA, He H, Pham-Huy C. Free radicals, antioxidants in disease and health. Int J Biomed Sci. 2008;4(2):89-96.
[5] Lisa Nainggolan “Red wine polyphenols do not lower BP” Heartwire September 23 2011
[6] Whitman I, Pletcher M, Vittinghoff E et al. “Perceptions, Information Sources, and Behavior Regarding Alcohol and Heart Health.” Am J Cardiol August 15 2015;116(4):642-646