Around 8,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, wine emerged as an alcoholic beverage produced from the fermentation of grape juice. Its association with health dates to ancient times. However, scientific interest in wine and health increased in the 1980s with the so-called “French paradox”, which described the unexpectedly low incidence of cardiovascular disease in populations with relatively high saturated fat intake.
Since then, moderate wine consumption within the context of the Mediterranean diet has been associated with lower inflammation and reduced cardiovascular risk (1,2), although contradictory findings have also been reported (3). These effects have been partly attributed to resveratrol, an antioxidant compound naturally present in grapes and red wine.
Most studies investigating wine consumption are based on food frequency questionnaires, where participants report what they usually eat and drink. However, these questionnaires are not always completely accurate, since people may forget what they consumed or underestimate their alcohol intake.
For this reason, our research group wanted to use a more objective approach. We analyzed compounds derived from red wine that can be detected in urine in 179 participants (mean age 69) from the PREDIMED study, a large Mediterranean diet clinical trial carried out in Spain. Interestingly, we found that participants with higher levels of these wine-related compounds also showed lower levels of a blood marker associated with inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk. These results suggest that moderate red wine consumption, within a Mediterranean diet and in older individuals at high cardiovascular risk, may be linked to beneficial cardiovascular effects.
It is important to note that these findings are limited to older adults at high cardiovascular risk within the context of a Mediterranean diet. Therefore, caution is needed when extrapolating these results to the general population, and further studies are required to confirm these associations in other population groups.
References
- Estruch R, Sacanella E, Badia E, Antúnez E, Nicolás JM, Fernández-Solá J, et al. Different effects of red wine and gin consumption on inflammatory biomarkers of atherosclerosis: a prospective randomized crossover trial. Atherosclerosis 2004;175:117–23.
- Li X, Hur J, Cao Y, Song M, Smith-Warner SA, Liang L, et al. Moderate alcohol consumption, types of beverages and drinking pattern with cardiometabolic biomarkersinthreecohortsofUSmenandwomen.EurJEpidemiol2003;38:1185–96.
- WilliamsMJA,SutherlandWHF,WhelanAP,McCormickMP,DeJongSA.Acuteeffect of drinking red and white wines on circulating levels of inflammation-sensitive molecules in men with coronary artery disease. Metabolism 2004;53:318–23.
Graduate in Food Science and Technology from the University of Barcelona (2021) with an Extraordinary Degree Award, and Master in Food in Physical Activity and Sport from the Open University of Catalonia (2023). Currently pursuing a PhD in Food and Nutrition, within the UNIVO project, studying and comparing the effect of cooking in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with its refined version.