Although it was already known that a glass of red wine does not harm anyone, for the first time its beneficial effects have been experimentally and ‘live’ proven. The research, which is published in the journalAmerican Journal Clinical Nutrition, reveals that moderate consumption of wine improves the intestinal microbiota thanks toeffect of polyphenolscontaining.
The scientists, from the Center for Biomedical Research in Network-Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn), followed ten men for twenty days who were asked to include a daily drink in their meal. “We divide them into three groups: one ingesting red wine, another alcohol-free red -both with the same polyphenol content-, and a third control group with the same amount of alcohol but in the form of gin”, explained Francisco J. Tinahones, one of the authors. “We observed that both red and non-alcoholic red wine improved the intestinal flora of the volunteers,increasing the number of bacteria related to the protection of certain diseasesSpecifically, they increased the proportion of bacteroidetes and bifidobacteria in feces, something that did not happen with gin “.
According to the authors, this beneficial effect is due to polyphenols, compounds present in certain foods and beverages such as fruit, vegetables, wine, coffee, tea and chocolate, with numerous beneficial effects on health. The intestinal bacteria would be able to transform phenolic compounds into new substances with an impact on the pathological processes involved in the development of diseases.
In addition, the benefits of wine were not only manifested in the intestinal flora. “We found that red wine reduced triglyceride levels, ‘bad’ cholesterol, inflammation markers and blood pressure,” Tinahones said.
