Does The Consumption Of Red Wine Lower

The Risk Of Heart Disease. Essay, Research Paper

Does the consumption of red wine lower the risk of heart disease.

The incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in France is the lowest among industrial countries, despite the high incidence of several risk factors. In comparison to Americans, the French consume 3.8 times as much butter and 2.8 times as much lard, they have higher cholesterol and blood pressure levels, they smoke on a comparable level to Americans, and they don’t exercise quite as often. Despite these appalling health statistics, the French have a 2.5 fold less risk of dying as a result of heart disease. What can begin to explain this. This phenomenon, known as the “French Paradox,” was believed to be due to a vegetable and fruit rich Mediterranean diet. However, through various studies, researchers worldwide have come to agree that the French tradition of consuming red wine is at the root of explaining why the French enjoy a reduced risk of heart disease.

. So, does the consumption of red wine really reduce the risk of heart disease. There has been a consistent body of epidemiologic data that has alluded to the reduced incidence of mortality and morbidity from coronary heart disease (CHD) among those who consume alcohol in moderation in comparison with those who abstain. This protection has been attributed to the ethanol present in those beverages classified as “alcoholic.” But gaining further momentum is the evidence that polyphenols also display additional benefits, which at least in vitro and in cell culture experiments act as potent inhibitors of platelet aggregation and biological oxidation reactions associated with the generation of freed radicals. Polyphenols belong to the family of phytochemicals that are found in plants and contribute to a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer in people who consume them regularly.

Polyphenols are a relatively new phenomenon and have not conclusively made their case yet, but there is no disputing the reality that the advocacy of fruit and vegetables as essential components of a healthy diet is based upon their intrinsic content of theses same polyphenols. A major advantage of wine over fruit is that the dietary polyphenols are soluble and bioavailable in wine, which is the degree to which the amount of an ingested nutrient is absorbed and is available to the body. This is an advantage over solid vegetables and fruits, which contain their phenolic components in polymeric, insoluble or tightly bound, and compartmentalized forms that render them unavailable for absorption.

Since very little is known about the extent or amount of uptake of these dietary constituents, it remains to be fully established that red wine provides a more favorable medium than fruits and vegetables. While red wine is apparently a better source of polyphenols, it was necessary to check on wine’s inherent properties through other studies. The first study examines resveratrol, a polyphenol in red wine that has been associated with reduced heart disease. The second study examines whether alcohol-free red wine has the same effects as alcoholic red wine, so as to ascertain whether red wine intrinsically has preventive properties other alcoholic beverages, fruits, and vegetable may not have. And finally, the third study examines the effects of red wine, white wine, and grape juice on in vivo platelet activity and thrombosis in stenosed canine arteries.

RESVERATROL

The resveratrol study was a metabolic trial on cultured pulmonary artery endothelial cells to ascertain whether it, resveratrol, would induce nitric oxide synthase (NOS), a process that inhibits platelet growth, adhesion, and aggregation. Platelet activity is one of the many factors that go towards causing heart attacks.

The cultured heart cells were prepared and kept homogenous through fluorescent staining for diacylated low-density lipoprotein. They were then rountinely maintained with a fetal bovine serum that kept them viable. They were then harvested and counted by a hemocytometer (blood cell counter). Control cells were treated in the same way, except they were not treated with the resveratrol.

Because NOS produces a short-lived gas, these researchers tested the effects of resveratrol by assaying changes in ecNOS, an isoform of NOS specifically and expressed in endothelial cells. They found that resveratrol induced NOS and reduced endothelial cell proliferation, or platelet adhesion to the heart cells. As a result of this experiment, it is shown that the polyphenol resveratrol did alleviate platelet growth in the heart and effectively reduced the risk of clotting in the cultured heart cells.

ALCOHOL-FREE RED WINE

This Italian metabolic study endeavored to answer the question of whether it is the ethanol in wine or the polyphenols that are responsible for wine’s protective properties. To do this, these researchers used ten healthy non-smokers who did not use supplements or vitamins. These subjects asked to fast 12 hours prior to the trial. They were then given 113 mL of alcohol-free red wine. Blood samples were then taken at 30, 50, and 120 minutes after ingesting the wine. This process was then repeated one-week later using tap water and white wine.

To test their theory, the researchers studied whether the plasma antioxidant capacity increased and measured this as total radic