Scientists have been documenting the heart healthy benefits of red wine for years and advised health-conscious consumers to choose red over white. But researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Connecticut in Farmington, found that rats given white wine enjoyed similar protection from heart damage as those fed red wine.
Before this study, scientists believed that only red wine, which uses grape skins containing the powerful antioxidant resveratrol, could protect the heart from damage. The so-called “French paradox,” which referred to a high fat diet but low rates of heart disease, was linked to France’s love of red wine, which was rich in resveratrol.
White wine hasn’t been considered to be particularly heart-healthy, but molecular biologist Dipak Das disagrees. “The flesh of the grape can do the same job as the skin,” he says.
In the study, rats were given the equivalent of one or two glasses of red wine, white wine, water or grain alcohol (beer or vodka). In rats that suffered induced heart attacks, those that were fed wine had less heart damage than rats fed either water or grain alcohol. In addition, their blood pressure and aortic blood flow was more stable. The scientists found little difference between the rats fed red wine and those fed white wine.
Even though other experts aren’t willing to say that white wine is as good as red wine, Dr. Das believes future studies will agree with his conclusions. “We can safely say that one to two glasses of white wine per day works exactly like red wine,” he said.
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