RED WINE AND THE EFFECTS ON LDL CHOLESTEROL By: Krista Howieson

THEORY  Wine is an alcoholic drink that was first introduced by Mediterranean culture has not only has long played an important part in meals but also has had a key role in the protective effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular diseases.  The complex relationship between alcohol consumption and human health has been widely studied in recent years.  Moderate daily wine consumption can reduce the incidence of CAD and CVD.

WHY RED WINE?  Red wine contains several types of antioxidant polyphenols, including anthocyanins, which might affect the risk of CVD.  These polyphenolic substances come from the extraction derived from the skin and seeds during the fermentation process of red grapes which is different from the white wine fermentation process.

THEORY OF RED WINE AND LDL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS  Low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation is one of the early events leading to atherogenic conditions.  Lipoprotein oxidation can be inhibited or delayed by antioxidants, such as polyphenols.  Large amounts of these antioxidants in different beverages, such as red wine, is frequently mentioned as a rationale to explain the beneficial effects.  With increased antioxidant serum activity will directly result in an increased resistance of LDL to oxidize and increased levels of serum HDL cholesterol

RED WINE VERSUS OTHER ALCOHOLS  Red wine is created by a process in which grape juice is fermented for up to two weeks in the presence of the grape skin and seeds. Meanwhile, white wine is produced by pressing the juice away from the grape solids and then allowing it to ferment.  Red wine contains a high concentration and a wide variety of polyphenolic substances, most of which come from the extraction derived from the skin and seeds during the fermentation process.

RED WINE VERSUS OTHER ALCOHOLS, CONT.  Drinkers of any type of wine had a lower mortality risk than did beer or liquor drinkers, in part because wine drinkers were the lighter drinkers.  Moderate consumption of both wine and beer equally decreased inflammatory markers such as C-reactive proteins  The real problem is that there are very few long-term prospective studies comparing the possible beneficial effects of the types of alcohol on CVD outcomes

The major and consistent finding is that alcohol consumption, from whatever source, appears to have a J-shaped curve, whereby a modest intake is beneficial and either no intake or an increased intake is harmful

IS NO ALCOHOL REALLY HARMFUL?  Studies found that no alcohol intake was a harmful risk factor for myocardial infarction, especially in women.  The most obvious explanation would be the lack of the benefit of moderate alcohol intake on HDL-cholesterol levels  Americans who don’t consume alcohol have a different and generally less cardio protective lifestyle from moderate drinkers

BEST STUDY FOUND  Participants = 37 European, American and Asian population, including the US, Canada, United Kingdom, France and China, among others  Study was based on the MONItoring system for CArdiovascular disease (MONICA) project  7 million men and women between 35 to 64 years of age  The subjects were followed over a period of 10 years  Purpose = Comparison of different types of alcohols and their affects on CVD over a long-term study. Diets were also taken into affect.

BEST STUDY FOUND, CONT.  France presented a markedly lower annual mortality from CAD compared with other nations, despite the fact that CVD risk factors such as smoking, BP, BMI and serum cholesterol concentration were similar amount these countries; furthermore, France has a three-fold higher intake of saturated fats than that of the US and the UK, which are known for their healthier eating. However they have a 2.5-fold lower death rate due to CVD.

LIMITATIONS  Lack of comparison between the types of diets consumed with the red wine  Ages of the individuals  Number of individuals per each study  Long term versus short term affects  Some studies were even overviews of previous studies done

REFERENCES  ad-Undergrad/3-5-08/A_Venzia.pdf    