More wine! The American Heart Association says 3 glasses of red wine per week may be good for you

Correction: In the original article published on August 25, 2021, we mistakenly wrote that the American Heart Association recommended three glasses of wine a day. In fact, the organization has found that three glasses of wine per week may be good for you. We regret the error.

A new study published in the American Heart Association journal, Hypertension, determined that drinking three glasses of red wine per week can help maintain healthy blood pressure levels.

Why is red wine good for your heart?

Red wine is rich in flavonoids, which are plant pigments that have anti-inflammatory properties. They can be found naturally in berries, apples, tea, wine, and dark chocolate.

Over time, regular consumption of flavonoids induces persistent changes in the community of bacteria that live in our stomachs called the gut microbiome. These changes affect various cardiovascular functions, including blood pressure regulation.

“Our gut microbiome plays a key role in metabolizing flavonoids to enhance their cardioprotective effects, and this study provides evidence to suggest these blood pressure-lowering effects are achievable with simple changes to the daily diet,” said lead investigator of the study Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., chair and professor in nutrition and preventive medicine at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

With respect to cardiovascular health, three glasses of red wine were found to be equivalent to 80 grams of berries (or one cup of berries). Participants who adhered to either value reduced their systolic blood pressure by 12%.

The participants were between the ages of 25 and 82.

The benefits of red wine don’t stop at blood pressure

The participants involved in the new study who consumed the highest intake of flavonoid-rich foods not only lowered their systolic blood pressure levels, they also exhibited a more diverse gut microbiome compared to the participants who consumed the lowest levels of flavonoid-rich foods.

A diverse gut microbiome accounted for up to 15.2% of the association between flavonoid-rich foods and systolic blood pressure.

In addition, a diverse gut microbiome has been independently associated with improved cognitive function, cardiovascular health, and weight regulation.

More specifically, many chemicals important for mood stabilization called neurotransmitters are made within the gut and rely on different species of bacteria to function properly.

A recent study published in The Lancet made similar findings of gut bacteria’s impact on various cardiovascular diseases.

The authors found that gut bacteria can help break down cholesterol and even help us control cravings — by allowing us to get more nutrients from our food, thus making us feel fuller faster.

How to diversify your gut microbiome

The authors say that if you don’t already drink alcohol, you should consider other, healthier flavonoid sources like vegetables, legumes, beans, fruit, fermented foods (like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, and yogurt), and whole grains. All of these make your gut microbiome more diverse.