diet such as the Mediterranean diet, which is known to be cardioprotective,” he said.
But you may not even have to drink red wine to get the benefit, Kloner said. Moderate amounts of beer and spirits also have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease.
It’s a common assumption that red wine may be good for the heart because it contains antioxidants such as resveratrol, which is primarily found in the skin of grapes but also peanuts and blueberries. Some studies suggest resveratrol can reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure.
“There’s a debate about whether resveratrol is really cardioprotective or not,” Kloner said. “In addition, there is debate about the amount of resveratrol you would need to ingest to get a protective effect. To get the equivalent of the amount of resveratrol that has been reported to be protective would probably mean ingesting an excess of wine.”
Federal guidelines and the American Heart Association recommend that if you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation. That means no more than one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per
