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Lower Cholesterol with Wine

OK, listen. French people eat tons of saturated fat. French people drink lots of wine, mostly red. And French people have low rates of cardiovscaulr disease. This chain of effects as resulted in the conclusion that drinking red wine helps prevent cardiovascular disease.

Up crops resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine at much higher levels than it’s found in other types of alcohol. Another conclusion is drawn: resveratrol prevents cardiovascular disease. But there’s more to the story.

Wines high in resveratrol also tend to be high in flavonoids as well. Flavonoids are also found in chocolate, catechins in tea, walnuts, pomegranates, dark beers such as stouts and porters, and pycnogenol (pine bark extract) and are suspected to block oxidation of LDL (preventing its entry into plaque), normalize abnormal endothelial constriction (related to constriction of blood vessals), and offer platelet-blocking effects (which can prevent blood clots). All good stuff

Studies have also proven that a moderate amount of alcohol (no more than 2-3 drinks a day) of any kind raises HDL levels.

So the straight scoop is that wine doesn’t lower cholesteral. Red wines (and only some, not all) contain chemicals that are known to have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels, but it’s not an effect you can’t get from other sources.  Drinking 2-3 servings of any alcohol has a positive impact on the overall cholesterol profile, but if you’re someone with a poor cholesterol profile, adding a glass or two of red wine a day isn’t going to make a significant difference.

Start with the big stuff first – sugar, grains (no bread, rice, pasta, etc.), and processed carbohydrates (as in don’t eat that stuff). The jury is still out on dairy, as some recent test show full fat dairy might actually be beneficial.

Once you get that stuff under control, if you want to reward yourself with a nice glass of Merlot ot a pint of stout, have at it.

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