Red wine boosts good cholesterol

Last updated at 16:52 01 February 2005


Now we all have the perfect excuse to crack open a bottle of red wine after a long hard day - a glass of red wine increases good cholesterol and lowers levels of a blood-clotting chemical.

New research shows that a daily glass of red wine for four weeks increases HDL or good cholesterol by up to 16 per cent, and reduces the amount of the clotting compound fibrinogen by up to 15 per cent.

And the research shows that it's the alcohol in the wine that provides the beneficial effects. No similar effects were found among people taking the same amount of red grape extract.

Although red wine has been linked to health benefits, especially for the heart, it's not been known how the effects are achieved. Antioxidants and other non-alcoholic compounds have been suggested, but the new research points to alcohol itself.

In the research at the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Copenhagen, men and women aged 30 to 74, were given either 300ml of red wine a day, or red grape extract or water for a month, after which their cholesterol and fibrinogen levels were measured.

The levels of good cholesterol went up by between 11 and 16 per cent in the wine drinkers, and the amount of fibrinogen went down by eight to 15 per cent.

HDL cholesterol is considered good because a high level of it seems to protect against heart problemspossibly because it carries cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver. Fibrinogen is a bloodclotting agent and high levels are associated with an increased risk of heart problems.

"Moderate red wine consumption for four weeks is associated with desirable changes in HDL and fibrinogen compared with drinking water with or without red grape extract.

"The impact of wine on the cardiovascular risk factors thus seems primarily explained by an alcoholic effect," say the researchers.

Other research has shown that while red wine may be protective, other forms of alcohol are not. That, say the researchers, may be explained by other lifestyle differences between people who favour different kinds of drink.

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