Red wine won’t reduce blood pressure, Dutch study says

Red wine and heart health have long been linked, with studies suggesting a glass or two a day lowers heart disease risk.

Now, Dutch researchers have found that the polyphenols don’t seem to promote heart health by reducing blood pressure.

Health news website WebMD reported that red wine’s heart-healthy benefits have often been attributed to antioxidants called polyphenols. While expert opinions have varied on polyphenols’ effect on the heart, Dutch researchers have discovered that polyphenols don’t seem to promote heart health by reducing blood pressure, according to WebMD.

Lead researcher Ilse Botden, MD and a PhD student at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, presented the findings on Friday at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research 2011 Scientific Sessions in Florida in the US.

“Our findings do not support [the idea] that potential cardiovascular benefits of red wine consumption result from blood pressure lowering by polyphenols,” says researcher Ilse Botden.

The findings don’t suggest red wine isn’t still heart-healthy — just that it doesn’t seem to work by lowering blood pressure, Botden says.