Wine and heart

Wine consumption as a mean of cardiovascular protection because of its antioxidant content is an unproven strategy. It is still unclear what the effects of other antioxidants on human disease may be. Fresh fruits and vegetables, including non alcoholic grape beverages, should have a similar antioxidant action as red wine. Overall, light to moderate consumption of any type of alcohol containing beverage appears to reduce platelets aggregation and provides an antithrombotic benefit similar to that of aspirin. No clinical trials have provided verification that alcohol can be used to increase HDL cholesterol levels. In contrast, treatment of patients with low HDL with statins as primary prevention and with fibric acids as secondary prevention has been shown to be beneficial. A number of dietary factors, such as consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables and fish and reduced intake of milk products, differ within the

Keywords: Wine, heart, anti-oxidants, lipoproteins