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WINE FOR THE HEART
By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence
 EDMONTON,
Alb. (June 13, 1997)- A glass of wine may be healthiest choice if you
want to experience the cardioprotective effects of moderate alcohol consumption,
suggests a new study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for
Epidemiological Research.
Excessive alcohol consumption raises blood pressure, destroys liver cells and weakens the immune system. However, data from epidemiological studies has shown that those who consume moderate amounts of alcohol, one or two drinks a day, live longer than abstainers or heavy drinkers. The original studies involved countries surrounding the Mediterranean. This led researchers to look to wine, the primary drink of that area, for specific health benefits. Subsequent studies in Northern Europe indicated that the cardiovascular benefits seen in France and Italy could also be observed in northern Europeans who consumed moderate amounts of beer or liquor. New data from the University of Buffalo may start the pendulum swinging back in favor of wine over other forms of drink. UB epidemiologists have shown, in research to determine the relationship between different types of alcoholic beverages and oxidative stress (cell damage caused by free radicals) that people who drink wine appear to experience less alcohol-related oxidative stress than people who drink beer or liquor. "The difference was small but significant," said Maurizio Trevisan, M.D., professor and chair of the UB Department of Social and Preventive Medicine and lead author on the study. "Our findings support the notion that different sources of alcohol have different effects on oxidative status and could have a different impact on health outcomes linked to damage from free radicals." Oxidative stress is known to play a role in many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and neurological degenerative disorders. Alcohol, for its part, has been shown to exert positive effects on oxidative processes, raising levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol and inhibiting artery-clogging plaque formation. The study is different from previous research on this issue, Trevisan noted, because it was conducted in a random sample of a healthy population, oxidative stress was measured through blood samples, and researchers collected extensive information on alcohol consumption. Participants were 491 non-smoking men and women ages 35-73, selected randomly from the population of Erie and Niagara counties in Western New York. Oxidative stress was determined by measuring the concentration of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, or TBARS -- products generated by oxidative stress to lipids (fats) in the blood. The research showed that participants who derived their alcohol from beer and liquor had higher levels of TBARS than participants who drank wine. Trevisan characterized the findings as interesting, but preliminary. "We know that alcohol is an oxidant and that wine is an antioxidant," he said. "It's possible that some component of wine counteracts the effects of alcohol from other sources." It is also possible that diet plays a role in this equation, he noted. Wine drinkers may consume foods higher in antioxidants than drinkers of other sources of alcohol. The researchers have diet data from this study population and will report results of that analysis at a later date, Trevisan said.
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