Even wine with no alcohol can boost the heart
... it’s all down to anti-oxidants in grapes
Alcohol-free wines are just as good for the heart as normal vintages, a study shows.
And, unlike regular types, ‘zero’ wines are not bad for your health in other ways.
Dr Rudolph Schutte, a senior professor at Anglia Ruskin University, analysed data from nearly 450,000 people over an average of seven years to examine the link between alcohol and health.
‘There is an undeniable protective beneficial relationship between coronary heart disease and consumption of both red and white wine,’ said Dr Schutte.
‘however, this is only seen with coronary heart disease and none of the other cardiovascular diseases.
‘This relationship is also seen for alcoholfree wine, so it suggests the benefits are thanks to the polyphenols in the wine rather than the alcohol.’
Polyphenols are antioxidants which are naturally found in grapes, and are thought to improve cardiovascular health. The research suggests there is no such thing as a healthy tipple. Dr Schutte said that, contrary to popular belief, even a moderate amount of beer, cider and spirits is bad for you, with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and overall mortality. The only exception to this was that drinking moderate amounts of wine decreased the risk of coronary heart disease by around 10 per cent. Previous studies by other researchers had indicated that small amounts of alcohol can be generally beneficial. however, Dr Schutte, whose research was presented at the British Science Festival in cheltenham, believes these studies incorrectly used comparisons with non-drinkers.
This is because non-drinkers include those who abstain from alcohol due to existing health conditions – and so are at high risk of serious illness.
‘comparing a group of low to moderate drinkers to this “risky” reference group of nondrinkers could wrongly indicate that alcohol is beneficial to health,’ he said.
current UK recommendations are to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week – equivalent to seven pints of beer, nine small glasses of wine or 14 single spirits.
But Dr Schutte said: ‘our findings show that even low levels of alcohol consumption can be damaging to our health.’ he suggested that alcohol should come with health warnings on the label of the bottle or can, similar to those currently found on cigarette packets.