Contributed by Nguyet Kong
Recent research has been done to understand why wine can reduce the risk of heart disease and it’s all about the gut microbiome. Red wine has a compound called resveratrol that reduce the risk of heart disease because it appears to have impact of the development of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is when the plague arteries get harden and narrow, so basically the arteries slowly get block putting the blood flow at risk due to the limiting flow of oxygen-rich blood moving to the organs. The plaques are made from fat, calcium and other items found in the bloodstream. This is a high cause of heart attacks, strokes and other vascular diseases.
Resveratrol is a natural plant compound that can be found in red wine. It is believed to have antioxidant properties that can protect against some diseases. Researchers at the Research Center for Nutrition and Food Safety in Chongqing, China wanted to learn how resveratrol might protect against atherosclerosis by doing a mouse study to see how resveratrol will alter the bacterial community in the gut that it can provide protection. The finding show it reduce the level of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and inhibit gut bacteria production of TMA, which is a factor for atherosclerosis. The results indicate that the gut microbiota will be an interesting target for pharmacological and dietary developments to decrease the risk of heart disease. For the future, the researchers believe a natural polyphenol could be used to treat heart disease, so now the role of resveratrol need be more defined and the study need to be replicated in humans.
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/2/e10.full
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100621/how-red-wine-helps-the-heart
http://www.nutritioninsight.com/news/Uncovered-Why-Drinking-Red-Wine-May-Reduce-Risk-of-Heart-Disease.html?tracking=Nutrition%20and%20Health%20News-Related%20Articles
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/atherosclerosis
