We have all seen our parents have a glass of wine at dinner and perhaps wondered, are they receiving any benefits from that consumption? Wine, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes or other fruits. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes and converts them into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Given that wine is of course an alcoholic beverage, too much could be harmful. However, could a simple glass or two daily go a long way?
The argument that wine can help prevent heart disease stems from the idea that wine, especially red wine, contains flavonoids and other antioxidants that can play a part in helping to reduce heart disease. These antioxidants may do this by increasing levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (a good cholesterol) and fight to protect against artery damage.
A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic on red wine and heart disease takes a look specifically on how this beverage can help the heart. The study was conducted on a large group of mice. Resveratrol, a key ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, was given to half of these mice. It was found that the mice who received the resveratrol received a significant amount of less blood clotting than the mice who did not receive it.
I am not sure this study can prove the hypothesis about wine to be valid because it must be recognized that mice could respond differently than humans. Mice blood clots could occur differently than humans blood clots; however, it is still a study worth at least considering. As Andrew has taught us this year so far, it is important to look at as many sources and studies as possible and make a conclusion that way without disregarding any information.
As Andrew has taught us this year, there are always third variables that can play a part when trying to figure out a cause of something. I believe third variables could potentially have a lot to do with why people have healthier hearts and less heart problems. Some of these third variables could be a healthy diet, a routine work out schedule, or simply lucky genetics.
As a final thought, one must think about the gain versus the opportunity cost. Like Andrew’s example in class: we do not know for certain that sleeping with the television off can prevent depression, but if the opportunity cost is so low of simply clicking a remote button, than why not do it? The same logic applies here. It is not completely proven that red wine can reduce heart disease, but if there is a chance it does and you do not mind the taste of red wine, than the opportunity cost of pouring a glass is very low and could potentially be very beneficial in the future.
Work Cited:
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/05/28/redwinechemicals/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/ART-20048281
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Alcohol-and-Heart-Health_UCM_305173_Article.jsp
In reply to the comment above, you’re absolutely right. Red wine may be helpful, but in moderation. Heart disease will not be prevented if one is simply consuming an unhealthy amount of wine. This of course will only lead to sickness and is not good for our bodies. This is why I made sure to say at the end of my article that this theory is not proven and if you enjoy red wine, there is no harm in having a drink or two. It definitely is important though that people understand their drinking levels and what is right for their personal body. Good point!
Link didn’t post in last comment, but the American Heart Association talks about the relation between red wine and our hearts! http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/103/3/472.full
Whenever I heard the saying “red wine prevents heart disease”, it always just went in one ear and out the other. I never took the time to understand the chemical make-up of wine and it’s potential benefits. As mentioned above about the experiment with rats, it is a good study to keep in mind when considering the effects of red wine. But it is possible that it makes a lesser amount of wine to develop the blood clots in mice or since they are smaller organisms it affects their hearts differently. While the study design is great and the logic behind the experiment makes sense, it might not be similar to that of humans. Although it might not be morally correct, by testing the same experiment on humans, scientists might be able to get a clearer result on how it affects our system and hearts.
I just posted a comment and for some reason my link isn’t showing up. Here’s the link to the PBS article! http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/the-top-10-myths-of-heart-health/
You made a point of mentioning “the long run,” which seems hard to measure without using humans as the experimental group. I say this for several reasons; one, because humans (with the exception of college students who enjoy “slapping the bag”) generally drink wine in moderation. Because the body mass of a mouse is drastically smaller than that of a human, the effects of Resveratrol could be greatly different to how the average human would react depending on the amount of Resveratrol the mouse received. My other problem with the experiment is that mice, especially experimental ones, often do not live the life span of a human. I believe that to find the lasting effects of this chemical on one’s health, scientists would have to monitor the heart of casual wine drinkers for years. It is also possible that Resveratrol is not responsible for the apparent health boost in wine and that another ingredient is.
In this article posted by PBS, the “Top 10 Myths of Heart Health” seems to disagree with the idea that red wine is especially beneficial to ones health. () While no studies show that drinking red wine is a poor decision, there is little evidence to prove that red wine will sustain a healthy heart for all drinkers.
I think what’s going to be hard for students our age to understand (especially females who love wine…) is that it’s only red wine, in moderation, that will help prevent heart disease. When someone hears “wine helps prevent heart disease”, I can see people starting to consume mass amounts of boxed Franzia, and their defense being, “It helps prevent heart disease”! So while one glass of red wine may help prevent heart disease, that message needs to be sent loud and clear.