Cheers! How choosing red wine could help keep your heart healthy
All alcohol is bad for you. But if you’re already a drinker you might want to think about switching out your usual beer, cider or G&T for a small glass of red wine.
Red wine is rich in compounds called polyphenols, which naturally occur in plants. They have multiple beneficial effects: lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and even boosting your gut microbiome.
In Just One Thing, Michael Mosley raises a (metaphorical) glass to red wine’s ability to keep our heart healthy and our gut bacteria booming. Cheers!
Red wine can reduce cholesterol
A regular glass of red wine has been shown to improve cholesterol levels.
A glass of red wine with food was associated with a 14% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In Israel in 2015, scientists took 224 teetotal diabetics and randomly allocated them to either drinking a medium-sized glass of red wine, a glass of white wine or a glass of mineral water with their evening meal – every night for two years.
The red wine drinkers came out on top, with significant improvements in their cholesterol scores and, perhaps surprisingly, in the quality of their sleep.
Red wine can help control our blood sugar levels
Some of the red wine drinkers in this study also enjoyed better blood sugar control.
This was no fluke: another study from Spain showed that drinking red wine can improve your body’s response to insulin, resulting in an ability to clear sugar from your blood more quickly.
It’s not just what you drink but when you drink it
Drinking red wine with a meal is much better for you than having it on its own.
According to a recent longitudinal study, where researchers followed 312,000 people for an average of eleven years, a glass with food was associated with a 14% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It was only protective if you drank with the meal (and with moderation).
A glass of the grape can be great for the gut
Dr Tim Spector, Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London, explains how red wine has been shown to boost our microbiome, according to data collected from nearly 5,000 people: “What we found was that the red wine drinkers had a healthier, more diverse gut microbiome than non-drinkers. And generally, alcohol drinkers had worse microbiomes than non-drinkers.”
The gut microbiome is one of those rare things in the human body that isn’t influenced by our genes but purely environmental and under dietary control, he states. And it seems “red wine might actually – in small, modest amounts – be good for our guts.”
What is the French paradox and does red wine play a part in it?
Dr Michael Mosley explores the benefits of drinking red wine in moderation.
A diverse microbiome provides a “living pharmacy”
A diverse microbiome means that you’ve got different species of bacteria available in your gut. “Basically, you have a living pharmacy that’s able to produce much more healthy chemicals than you would otherwise be able to do,” explains Tim Spector. “These are crucial to help your metabolism, and to help your immune system and to help your digestion.”
Red wine has three times more polyphenols than white wine.Tim Spector
The secret is in the skin
“It’s the fact that wine comes from grapes and in the skin of the grape there are these defence chemicals called polyphenols,” says Tim. “Red wine has three times more polyphenols than white wine.” And the fermenting process itself actually increases the number of polyphenols.
Choose red wine – but with a meal and moderation
“We’re definitely not saying that alcohol itself is good for you,” Dr Tim Spector stresses. The study showed that once you approach three glasses of red a day on average, you lose any benefit.
One glass with a meal seems like a good dose. “Looking at the studies that would seem to be fine for most people,” he says. But not the whoppers you might get in the pub! “We’re talking about traditional French wine glasses where you’d get six to a bottle.”
So, choose red wine. A small glass or two, a few days a week. Doing so could benefit your gut microbiome and your heart.
