Red wine may not lower blood pressure say researchers

Red wine may not lower blood pressure say researchers

We have been told a lot that a moderate intake of red wine is good for your heart health.  Some studies have suggested a glass a day lowered your heart disease risk.  The health benefits are said to come from antioxidants called polyphenols.  However, now Dutch researchers have found that the polyphenols don't seem to promote heart health by reducing blood pressure. "Our findings do not support [the idea] that potential cardiovascular benefits of red wine consumption result from blood pressure lowering by polyphenols," said researcher Ilse Botden, from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The findings don't suggest red wine isn't still heart-healthy - just that it doesn't seem to work by lowering blood pressure.  The benefit of red wine and heart health, she says, ''apparently occurs in a blood pressure-independent manner." Botden presented her findings to the  American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research 2011 Scientific Sessions in Orlando.