Red Wine Not As Good For Your Heart as Once Thought

When it comes to preventing heart disease, two drinks are not better than one. A recent study by the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre casts conventional thinking on the health benefits of red wine into doubt.

It’s known as the “French paradox”: A high-fat diet, including regular consumption of a nice Pinot Noir, has led to lower rates of heart disease in some European countries. This has been confirmed in large, population studies: light or moderate drinking can protect against the risk of death and the development of heart disease. Some research has also reported specific benefits of red wine.

But the findings of this study showed virtually identical effects of wine and alcohol. After one drink of either beverage, blood vessels were more “relaxed” which reduced the amount of work the heart had to do. But after two drinks, the heart rate, amount of blood pumped out of the heart, and action of the sympathetic nervous system all increased, counteracting the beneficial effect of the original glass.

That increased rate may be partly why heavy drinking has been shown to have adverse effects.

The most surprising thing about this study, according to the lead researcher, were the similar effects of the different types of alcohol. “Any benefits that we found were not specific to red wine,” said Dr. John Floras, Director of Cardiology Research at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, However, Dr. Floras cautioned this study measured the effects of these drinks on one occasion only. The effects of daily wine or alcohol intake may be quite different.

The American Heart Association doesn’t recommend that anyone start drinking alcohol to prevent heart disease. Reducing risk can be done using other methods such as exercise and following a healthy diet.

Select Study Findings                         

One drink of either red wine or alcohol:

      ·          Has no effect on heart rate, blood pressure or sympathetic nerve activity, which activates the “fight or flight” reaction and generally modulates heart rate and sets the diameter of blood vessels in order to redistribute blood; d

·          d ilates the brachial artery.

Two drinks of either alcohol or red wine:

      ·          Increase sympathetic nerve activity, heart rate, and the amount of blood the heart pumps out, and also blunt the ability of the brachial artery to expand further in response to blood flow.

     ·          Increases in heart rate and sympathetic nerve activity are recognized markers for hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure and sudden death.