Red wine - raises or lowers blood pressure? The effect of alcohol on blood pressure

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The benefits of red wine have long been a well-known fact, its miraculous properties are legendary, and scientists around the world have been conducting various studies for many years proving the positive effect of the drink on the body. One area of their research to clarify whether red wine raises or lowers blood pressure is the effect of wine on the cardiovascular system.

Benefits of red wine

Among the huge variety of alcoholic beverages, there are very few that benefit the body.

The he alth benefits of red wine are almost beyond doubt. It is due to the high content of antioxidants, such as resveratrol, catechin, epicatechin and proanthocyanidins. They actively participate in the body's fight against chronic inflammation, and also normalize the work of the cardiovascular system, remove free radicals from the blood, thereby increasing the body's resistance to oncological processes. Also with the assistanceresveratrol, a new compound called piceatannol is synthesized in the body, which helps to normalize weight due to the fact that it blocks the binding of insulin. As a result, it not only helps in the fight against excess weight, but also prevents diabetes, kidney failure, and this is not even the whole list that describes the he alth benefits of red wine.

Wine Selection

As you know, there is more than one type of wine, and their effect on the body is not the same. And it is dry red wine that has the maximum set of useful substances.

In medicine, even a special direction has been created, which is called enotherapy: it studies the effect of wines on the human body and develops treatment regimens for various ailments with their help. And scientists have proven that the benefits of wine are due to its composition and the amount of useful ingredients, which depends on the grape variety and the land on which it was grown. Thus, your choice should be stopped on dry red wine of high quality, but not sweet sorts or vermouths. It has a positive effect on blood vessels, and this makes it clear whether red wine raises or lowers blood pressure.

The effect of wine on blood pressure

Wine, whatever it is, has a significant effect on blood pressure, like any alcohol. When it enters the body, it immediately dilates the blood vessels, but for a rather short time. Along with this, it accelerates the heartbeat and, after the natural vasoconstriction, inevitably raises the pressure.

Red wine, depending on its type, has a specific effect on the body. Thus, sweet wines have an intense effect on the heart, speeding up its work, which leads to a significant increase in pressure. But dry wines have a beneficial effect on blood vessels due to the content of antioxidants and fruit acids in it, which makes dry red wine useful for hypertension.

High blood pressure wine

Hypertension is a disease that many people suffer from, they are forced to diet and deny themselves various products, which include alcohol.

There are many holidays and feasts in the year, and hypertensive patients are interested in the question of whether wine can be under pressure. Thus, it should be borne in mind that the effect of different alcohols is not the same, and if some types are harmful, others help. Wines have a beneficial effect, but only in quantities up to two glasses, otherwise there will be no benefit. To understand whether red wine raises or lowers blood pressure, it is worth studying the mechanism of its effect on the cardiovascular system. Sweet varieties act according to the classical scheme, dilating blood vessels at first, but due to the increased contraction of the myocardium, pressure inevitably increases. Dry vintage wines, on the other hand, tend to persistently relax vessel walls due to the content of fruit acids. Thus, it becomes clear, but not any alcohol with high blood pressure can harm.

Wine for hypotension

If everything is with hypertensionmore or less clear, it is completely unclear whether red wine can be made under reduced pressure. As you know, dry wine can dramatically and permanently reduce blood pressure by increasing the level of nitrogen in the blood, which leads to prolonged vasodilation. This makes it unacceptable for people suffering from hypotension! But sweet varieties, vermouths and tinctures will still correct the situation with low blood pressure, but only with dosed consumption.

It is worth considering that prolonged abuse of any wine will inevitably lead to chronic hypertension.

Dose selection

When realizing the benefits of red wine for pressure, many do not bother thinking about the dosages in which it gives a positive result, and which are already frankly harmful to the body. Of course, the drink is rich in useful substances, and also improves blood microcirculation, having a beneficial effect on blood vessels, but if abused, it significantly increases the load on the heart. And increasing the dose is proportional to the harm to the heart.

Scientists have established that a safe daily dose should not exceed 300 ml. If we talk about the useful norm, then it is 50 ml per day with meals. You can take wine in the recommended doses daily, but still it would not hurt to take a day off at least once a week.

White wine

There is a lot of information about whether red wine raises or lowers blood pressure, but there is no mention of white wine anywhere. Nevertheless, it is also beneficial for the body, although the content of antioxidants in it is an order of magnitude smaller, but their absorption by the body is easier.

White varieties help improve metabolism, improve appetite and promote increased secretion of gastric juice. Thus, they have a detrimental effect on the bacteria in the stomach and restore the acid-base balance, simplifying the process of digestion. White wine in small quantities has a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland, forcing it to intensively produce hormones, it is also good for the kidneys. But the high sugar content makes this wine unsuitable for hypertensive patients and diabetics.

Georgian wines

The history of these wines goes back to ancient times, the first archaeological finds that testify to the origin of winemaking in Georgia date back to the 6th century BC. Among them, there are both jugs with grape seeds and leaf prints.

During its history, winemaking has steadily developed and improved, reaching today an unprecedented level. Today, Georgian wines compete only with French ones, not inferior in quality and taste.

Georgian red dry wine is an excellent drink with a wonderful taste and delicate aroma. The sugar content in it is extremely low, but it has absorbed a lot of useful substances. Its strength varies from 10 to 13 degrees, the color is rich, dark, reminiscent of pomegranate juice.

Georgian red wine is prepared according toan ancient recipe in which the must ferments on the pulp, after which it is aged in large earthenware conical vessels, which are dug into the ground up to the neck. It spends three months in the ground, and the process takes place at a stable temperature, which leads to the excellent quality of the drink.

Georgian red dry wine is considered to be vintage. After aging underground, it is bottled in oak barrels, where it will spend at least another two years.

Georgian red wine has the most benefits for the body, but even it should be taken in limited quantities. It will perfectly complement any dish, become decoration and pride of the table.

The harm of wine

A lot of information says about the excellent properties of dry wines, about their beneficial effects on the body due to the content of antioxidants and fruit acids. But no matter how useful this drink is, do not forget that it is alcohol.

Alcohol is still extremely dangerous for the body, as it is a neurotoxin, leading to malfunctions of all organs and systems. Exceeding the norm will certainly lead to negative consequences, the list of which is extremely long. Among the most significant, it is worth noting: the emergence of alcohol dependence, liver problems leading to cirrhosis, obesity, which is especially dangerous for internal organs, and, as the most irreversible, early mortality. At the same time, a person will experience personal degradation, psycho-emotional disorders.

Scientificresearch

For the first time, Hippocrates spoke about the benefits of wine. Then, in 1992, scientists investigated what they called the “French paradox.” It talked about the fact that the consumption of dry red wine in France is very high, but the life expectancy of the French also differs from others for the better. At the same time, they rarely suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system, despite the fact that their food is quite fatty. This is due to polyphenols, which have cardioprotective properties.

However, in countries neighboring France, no such effect was found, although the use of dry red wine was not small there either. As a result, we found out that the benefits are not in wine, but in the complex diet of the French, called the Mediterranean.

Then, Canadian and American scientists conducted a series of experiments proving the beneficial effects of wine on the body when consumed with fatty foods, which improves fat metabolism and reduces the risk of eating it.

Canadian scientists have proven the benefits of dry red wine for gums and teeth, as it has anti-inflammatory properties, as well as fruit acids destroy bacteria, which prevents tooth decay.

It has been shown to benefit the circulation, kidneys, liver, skin, immune and hormonal systems. Moreover, a glass of dry red wine, according to scientists, is comparable to an hour of sports, bringing a person into tone and strengthening he alth.

Based on scientific research and life practice, it became clear whether red wine raises or lowers blood pressure, and it is also known about its effect on the work of the whole organism. The drink should be taken in a strict dosage in order to bring only benefits and eliminate negative effects on the body. And, of course, not every wine is worth attention, the choice should be made on red Georgian wine or dry red vintage French wine, since only they have the greatest benefit for a person.