Non-Alcoholic Red Wine Reduces Blood Pressure

An interesting study done by the Spanish researchers claims that non alcoholic red wine drops the blood pressure in men who are at high risk of heart disease.

The study being carried in the American Heart Association Journal Circulation Research suggests that consuming non alcoholic red wine every day or four weeks increases the levels of nitric oxide which brings down the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

According to the researchers, "Nitric oxide is a molecule in the body that helps blood vessels relax and allows more blood to reach your heart and organs."

The study was conducted on 67 men who were victims of diabetes or had suffered from three or more cardiovascular risk factors. These subjects consumed a common diet followed with one of the drink that included 10 ounces of red wine, non-alcoholic red wine or about 3 ounces of gin. All of the men tried each diet/beverage combination for 4 weeks.

There was equal amount of polyphenols an antioxidant that decreases blood pressure in both red wine and nonalcoholic wine.  

"The non-alcoholic part of the wine namely polyphenols exert a protective effect on the cardiovascular system," researcher Dr. Ramon Estruch, senior consultant at the internal medicine department of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, said to WebMD. "Polyphenols also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may be useful to prevent other disease such as diabetes."

When red wine was a part of the diet, the men noticed very little reduction in blood pressure. Whereas consuming gin didn't make any difference. Whereas with non alcoholic red wine, the blood pressure decreased by about 6mmHg in systolic and 2mmHg in diastolic blood pressure. This definitely reduces the risk of heart disease by 14 percent and stroke by as much as 20 percent.

They conclude saying, "Alcohol in red wine weakens its ability to lower blood pressure. But polyphenols still present after alcohol is removed from wine are likely the beneficial element in wine."

"This is welcome news for people who can't or don't want to drink alcohol," Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City was quoted in WebMD." Although some alcohol is thought to be good for you, too much alcohol can increase blood pressure levels. Certain people don't want to drink alcohol, so here we have an alternative way for them to get the heart health benefits. It's not so much the alcohol as it is the polyphenols in red wine."