Around half a glass of wine per day was linked to a 48 per cent lower risk of heart disease in men, said the researchers, presenting their findings at the American Heart Association's 47th annual conference. The same amount was also associated with a 40 per cent lower risk of death from all causes. Their research broadens existing health claims made about moderate red wine consumption to all wine, and to some extent, alcohol in general. The team analysed a lifestyle and dietary survey of 1,373 men from Zutphen, an industrial town in the eastern Netherlands. Known as the Zutphen Study, it followed the men, all born between 1900 and 1920, until death and measured their alcohol intake seven times over 40 years. Martinette Streppel, lead author of the new research, said the results were specific to "long-term, light alcohol intake among middle-aged men". Wine gave the most protection when compared with other alcoholic drinks, adding an extra two years on to the drinker's life on average, said Streppel, a PhD student at Wageningen University. And, men who drank small amounts of wine (around 45ml) could expect to live nearly four years longer than those who drank no alcohol. "Those people who already consume alcoholic beverages should do so lightly (1 to 2 glasses per day) and preferably drink wine," said Streppel. Several previous studies have linked moderate consumption of red wine to lower heart disease risk and even longer life. More recently, these apparent benefits have been attributed to polyphenols in the wine, which are thought to provide strong protection for human blood vessels. One type of polyphenol in wine, procyanidins, are considered the most active. Source: Presentation to American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention. Authors: Martinette Streppel, Marga Ocke, Hendriek Boshuizen, Frans Kok and Daan Kromhout (all PhD).
