The booze-free red wine – which contains the same levels of polyphenols as an alcoholic red wine – was found to increase levels of nitric oxide and thereby lower blood pressure in the study.
Led by Gemma Chiva-Blanch from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain, the researchers added that the dealcoholised red wine was more effective at reducing blood pressure than red wine containing alcohol, and could help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
“Dealcoholised red wine decreases systolic and diastolic blood pressure,” saidChiva-Blanch and her colleagues, who suggested that daily consumption of the alcohol-free wine “could be useful for the prevention of low to moderate hypertension.”
Study details
The researchers studied the effects of polyphenols and alcohol in 67 men with diabetes or three or more cardiovascular risk factors.
The participants ate a common diet, and were given one of three drinks to consume on a daily basis for four weeks (red wine, non-alcoholic red wine or gin). All participants received each drink/diet combination, with a ‘washout period’ before beginning the next.
Consumption of red wine phase resulted in a small reduction in blood pressure, while there was no change in BP from drinking gin, said the team.
After drinking the non-alcoholic red wine, however, the researchers revealed that blood pressure decreased by an average of 6mmHg in systolic and 2mmHg in diastolic blood pressure .
Chiva-Blanch and her colleagues said this blood pressure reduction roughly translates to a possible 14% risk reduction for heart disease and a lowering of the risk for stroke by as much as 20%.
The team concluded that the alcohol in red wine may weaken the ability of the polyphenols in red wine (and also present in the alcohol free wine) to lower blood pressure.
