Having A Glass Of Red Wine With Meat Prevents Cholesterol Build Up

Lately, health benefits of red wine have become a focus of great public attention and a center of serious public discussion. Traditionally, red wine is used as a part of healthy Mediterranean diet and for centuries it has been highly valued for its high concentrations of natural antioxidants to provide our body with plenty of benefits, starting from rejuvenating effects for our skin and ending up with reducing the risks of many common types of cancer as well as lowering cardiovascular disease risk. At the same time, according to the findings of some recent studies, including the research of Washington University experts, drinking a glass of red wine, even the highest quality wine, may not lead to any positive health effect especially in young and middle-aged healthy women. You can find detailed information about the conclusions of Washington University researchers regarding the effects and health benefits of red wine in this article, or read more about other health effects of red wine.

However, in the beginning of the year 2013, the findings of one more scientific study were published saying that actually having a glass of red wine can be a very good idea for those people who are having some red or dark meat. A group of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that drinking a glass of high quality red wine while eating red meat can be a great solution to prevent cholesterol built up from meat and this way lower cholesterol naturally. These conclusions are valid in cases if fatty red or dark meat is consumed, and certainly in case if a high quality red wine is used. The scientists underline that their findings are new of their kind, saying that cholesterol lowering health benefits of red wine can work great for those who are consuming a type of meat rich in natural animal fats considered harmful to our health. Animal fat consumption is linked to higher risks of having cholesterol built up in blood vessels, the condition causing a stroke, a heart attack, or other serious cardiovascular diseases.

For their experiment, the scientists invited 14 healthy volunteers, both men and women of various ages. The idea was pretty simple: for the first two weeks, the participants were offered a diet based on consuming plenty of dark turkey meat (turkey cutlets and so on). At that cholesterol levels of the participants were thoroughly monitored and the effects of other sources of natural antioxidants were excluded. For the other two weeks, the same kind of diet was enriched with consuming a glass of red wine with every meat dish. It turned out that consuming dark meat alone is linked to higher content of malondialdehyde, an organic compound known as a marker for increased oxidative stress, in the blood of the participants. Just after 4 days of consuming plenty of fatty meat, cholesterol levels in the blood of some participants increased up to 97 per cent. However, adding a glass of red wine to the diet helped to stop bad cholesterol increase, and even worked as a great solution to lower cholesterol naturally, due to a high content of natural antioxidants.

“Meat is rich in polyunsaturated fat and cholesterol. Our results could provide an explanation for the association between frequent meat consumption and increased risk in developing cardiovascular diseases. Including polyphenol rich products as an integral part of the meal significantly diminish these harmful effects,” said Professor Ron Kohen, one of the study leaders. It is interesting that the findings of this research group published in the Journal of Functional Foods, followed the discovery of another study by the expert team from New Zealand. As their tests and analysis have shown, consuming fresh vegetables like greens, tomatoes, potatoes, bell pepper and others with red meat can also assist in reducing bad cholesterol and substantially lowering cardiovascular disease risk. If you are interested in obtaining more information about the issue, you can find detailed report about the study by Israeli specialists in this article.

Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.

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