Responsibly indulging in wine has been shown to have a variety of positive health impacts. From heart health to stronger teeth, red wine can improve a lot when it comes to your health. However, it’s not just enough to hit the hooch.
A comprehensive study shows that wine only protects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people who also exercise.
“We found that moderate wine drinking was only protective in people who exercised,” said Professor Taborsky, researcher on the study. “Red and white wine produced the same results.”
Though research has supported the consumption of wine to help prevent CVD since the 90s, including both red and white varieties, Taborsky’s study is the first to look at the long-term effects. For one year, participants were instructed to moderately consume either red wine (Pinot Noir) or white wine (Chardonnay-Pinot).
According to the World Health Organization, moderate wine consumption is .2 L for women and .3 L for men no more than five times a week. Primarily, the researchers were monitoring HDL levels, which wine can help increase.
After a year, researchers found that there was no change in HDL levels in either the red or white wine groups. LDL cholesterol levels were lower in both groups, and total cholesterol was lower only in those who drank red wine.
“A rise in HDL cholesterol is the main indication of a protective effect against CVD, therefore we can conclude that neither red or white wine had any impact on study participants as a whole,” Taborsky said.
“The only positive and continuous result was in the subgroup of patients who took more exercise, which means regular exercise at least twice a week, plus the wine consumption. In this group HDL cholesterol increased and LDL and total cholesterol decreased in the red and white wine groups.”
So while wine drinking alone may not provide the health benefits we thought it did, there are benefits from combining wine and exercise. Knowing that may cause you to take a whole new look at places like yoga studios offering wine to improve your heart health.
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