You may have heard that a glass or two of red wine with dinner has heart-health benefits.
However, leading experts are now debunking that myth – and instead, draw connections between the beverage and major health problems.
The idea that red wine improves heart health dates back to the 1980s.
A group of scientists noted a phenomenon that became known as the French paradox – the curious fact that French people, who eat rich, fatty foods and drink red wine, have relatively low rates of heart disease, compared to other nations.
But experts have now refuted supposed benefits, claiming evidence to back them up is flimsy and has only been documented in observational studies – meaning other factors could be at play.
Dr Leslie Cho, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, said last week that red wine does not actually serve heart-health benefits, adding: ‘It’s just time to let go of that belief.
According to Dr Cho, there’s no good evidence that wine is less harmful than other types of alcohol.
She says more recent studies – conducted on humans and animals – show it can in fact increase the risk of illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.
Experts have now refuted supposed benefits, claiming evidence to back them up is flimsy and has only been documented in observational studies, not clinical ones
The French Paradox and the inclusion of red wine in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet were widely embraced by the public. It became a medical consensus before long, with scientists still espousing its benefits.
Red wine contains compounds called polyphenols, which are believed to help protect the lining of blood vessels in the heart. One particular polyphenol called resveratrol has received the most attention. However, research into its benefit has only been conducted in mice.
There’s zero evidence of any benefit for people who take resveratrol supplements. And you’d have to drink a hundred to a thousand glasses of red wine daily to get an amount equivalent to the doses that improved health in mice, according to Dr Kenneth Mukamal, an internist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Experts speaking to The New York Times have questioned the validity of observational studies into supposed heart health benefits. When examining population data on wine consumption, factors can complicate the analysis.
For instance, individuals who consume red wine often maintain healthier diets and lifestyles, which could contribute to their overall wellbeing. This doesn’t imply that red wine alone is responsible for health benefits, but rather the lifestyle linked with being a red wine consumer.
Alternatively, the researchers have suggested that the fact ‘moderate’ drinks see more benefits than non-drinkers could be attributed to the fact that a considerable portion of ‘non-drinkers’ were former drinkers who had stopped drinking alcohol due to health concerns.
Leading health authorities, including the World Health Organization, maintain that ‘No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.’
Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Advisor for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs in the WHO Regional Office for Europe, said: ‘We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol use. It doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage. The only thing that we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is.’
Alcohol is also known to increase blood pressure, raising the risk of heart disease. A 2023 study published in the journal Hypertension found that as people drank more alcohol, their blood pressure went up. This was true for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).
Drinking just one glass can also increase the risk of a type of heart arrhythmia known as atrial fibrillation, according to a 2021 report in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
Alcohol can also increase a person’s risk of developing cancer. When the body metabolizes alcohol, it produces acetaldehyde, a toxic compound that can damage DNA and proteins in cells, leading to mutations and the potential growth of cancer cells.
It can also increase estrogen levels in women, which has been linked to a greater risk of developing breast cancer and other hormone-related cancers.
