Taipei (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A moderate intake of red wine, no more than 300 cc per day, can improve blood circulation and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Red wine is also preferable to beer, vodka or even plain water, this according to the results of a study carried out this year by a team of researchers led by Drs Huang Po-hsun and Chen Jaw-wen at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan. Their study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
Although the benefits of red wine have long been touted, the study is the first to prove conclusively that a positive correlation exists between red wine intake and endothelial progenitor cells—stem cells that have the ability to repair injured blood vessel walls.
To test their hypothesis, the team divided 80 healthy adults into four groups, each of which drank one type of liquid—water, 100 cubic centimetres of red wine per day, 30 cubic centimetres of vodka, or 250 cubic centimetres of beer—for three consecutive weeks.
“Only the red wine group recorded a substantial increase in endothelial progenitor cells in their blood vessels,” Huang said.
The doctors said that since their tests were conducted on healthy subjects, they do not know whether the same results would obtain among those with pre-existing medical conditions.
They also stressed that the daily consumption of red wine should be moderate, i.e. no more than 300 cubic centimetres of red wine per day with 10 per cent alcohol content.
Meanwhile, demand for grape wine rose by 21 per cent in Taiwan between 2007 and 2008, generating US$ 87 million in business. Red wine is often served at traditional weddings. City dwellers and young adults are the main consumers.
