Drinking this much wine could halve your heart attack risk, study suggests

Researchers at the Carlos III Health Institute in Spain tracked 1232 people who were at elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease over five years.

This included individuals who smoked, had high blood pressure or high cholesterol, were overweight or had a family history of heart disease.

As well as filling out questionnaires about what they ate or drank, the study participants had their urine tested for tartaric acid, allowing for a more accurate assessment of their wine consumption.

The participants also followed a Mediterranean diet high in olive oil, vegetables, fruit, nuts and fish, and low in sweet or processed food and drink.

By the end of the five-year study period, there had been 685 cases of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, coronary revascularisation, strokes and deaths.

However, those who drank a “light-to-moderate” amount of wine - defined as half to one glass per day – had half the risk of heart disease compared to those who drank none or very little.

This was despite all participants eating the same Mediterranean diet.

Light drinking (between one glass per week and less than half a glass per day) reduced a person’s cardiovascular risk by 38 per cent.

However, the protective effects disappeared for those who drank more than one glass of wine a day.

Lead author of the study, Professor Ramon Estruch from the University of Barcelona, said measuring tartaric acid allowed the researchers to more accurately measure people’s true wine consumption.

“We have found a much greater protective effect of wine than that observed in other studies,” he said.

“A reduction in risk of 50 per cent is much higher than can be achieved with some drugs, such as statins.”

Estruch noted that up until now, around 20 per cent of the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet had been attributed to wine, but these results suggested a greater impact.

The authors cautioned that the results were found amongst an older population following a Mediterranean diet, and the same benefits may not necessarily apply to other demographics.

Recent studies have indicated that the protective effects of drinking wine begin between the ages of 35 and 40.