New study finds bottle of wine and certain diet 'as good as statins for heart'

A long-term study has shed new light on the benefits of wine in relation to heart health and how to get the balance right

A weekly bottle of vino, when paired with a Mediterranean diet, could be as beneficial for your heart as statins, according to academic research. While some studies have suggested that wine can be good for the heart, others have warned that excessive consumption can be harmful.

Most research into the health effects of wine has relied on participants self-reporting their alcohol intake, which could lead to "prone to measurement errors", researchers noted. Therefore, academics decided to examine an "objective" indicator of wine consumption in urine by looking for levels of a chemical known as tartaric acid.

They used data from a study that measured the effects of a Mediterranean diet - rich in olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish, and low in sweets or processed food and drink - on the health of older adults from a Mediterranean population at high risk of heart disease. The 1,232 participants not only filled out questionnaires about their food and drink intake but also provided urine samples at the beginning of the study and again one year later.

After four or five years of follow-up, there were 685 cases of heart disease, including heart attack, stroke or death from cardiovascular disease. According to the study, published in the European Heart Journal, people who drank three to 12 glasses of wine each month had a 38% lower risk of heart disease compared to those who drank less than one glass of wine a month.

The study found that those who consumed between 12 and 35 glasses of wine each month had a 50% lower risk. However, the heart health benefits began to decrease for those who drank more than this amount.

"Light to moderate wine consumption, measured through an objective biomarker (tartaric acid), was prospectively associated with lower CVD (cardiovascular disease) rate in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk," they said.

Study lead, Professor Ramon Estruch, from the University of Barcelona, said: "By measuring tartaric acid in the urine, alongside food and drink questionnaires, we have been able to make a more accurate measurement of wine consumption. We have found a much greater protective effect of wine than that observed in other studies. A reduction in risk of 50% is much higher than can be achieved with some drugs, such as statins.

"This study examines the importance of moderate wine consumption within a healthy dietary pattern, such as the Mediterranean diet. Until now, we believed that 20% of the effects of the Mediterranean diet could be attributed to moderate wine consumption, however, in light of these results, the effect may be even greater.

"The participants in our study were older people at high risk of cardiovascular disease living in a Mediterranean country, so the results may not apply to other populations. Another key question is at what age moderate wine consumption could be considered 'acceptable' - recent studies indicate that the protective effects of wine consumption are observed starting from the age of 35 to 40. It is also important to note that moderate consumption for women should always be half that of men, and it should be consumed with meals."

Commenting on the study, Professor Paul Leeson, consultant cardiologist and professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Oxford, said: "People often say that 'wine is good for the heart' but we also know too much wine is 'not good for the heart'. So how do we judge what the right amount might be? Existing research has often relied on studying what people report they drink and, for lots of reasons, self-reported wine consumption may not be accurate.

"The major strength of this study is that they have used a chemical measure in the urine to quantify how much wine was being consumed, rather than what someone says they are drinking. The study shows that drinking somewhere between three and, at most, 35 glasses of wine a month was associated with a reduction in risk. Anything over this amount and the benefit disappeared.

"So, no more than a bottle of wine a week, or, at most, 10 units of alcohol. Another important thing to remember is that the study still just reports an association - there may be other things that people who consume this amount of wine did in the study that helped reduce their risk.

"For one thing, the study was performed in people who were also eating a heart-healthy diet. Maybe the health advantages of a glass of wine are only seen when being drunk alongside a plate of Mediterranean food?"