Professional Opinion: Is red wine better for you than white wine?

This week, Holly Mlodzinski, health promotions coordinator with Hilton Head Hospital, talks about red wine, its possible health benefits and how it compares to other alcohol. For several decades, red wine has been thought to have had heart-healthy benefits, but a recent study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine says it may not help prevent heart disease after all.

Question. Red wine, in moderation, has been said to have health benefits. It has antioxidants, such as resveratrol, that are believed to be "heart healthy." But I only like white wine. Am I getting any of the same benefits?

Answer. Red wine, in moderation, has long been thought of as heart-healthy. The alcohol and certain substances in red wine called antioxidants may help prevent heart disease by increasing levels of good cholesterol, known as HDL or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and protecting against artery damage.

Many doctors agree that something in red wine appears to help your heart. It's possible that antioxidants, such as flavonoids or a substance called resveratrol, have heart-healthy benefits. Resveratrol is one substance in red wine that has gotten attention. It may help to protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart.

Red wine seems to have even more heart-healthy benefits than do other types of alcohol, but it's possible that red wine isn't any better than beer, white wine or liquor for heart health. There's still no clear evidence that red wine is better than other forms of alcohol when it comes to possible heart-healthy benefits.

Some research shows that resveratrol could be linked to a reduced risk of inflammation and blood clotting, both of which can lead to heart disease. More research is needed before it's known whether resveratrol was the cause for the reduced risk. It's also important to know that resveratrol's effects only last a short time after drinking red wine, so its effects may not last in the long term.

The resveratrol in red wine comes from the skin of grapes used to make wine. Because red wine is fermented with grape skins longer than is white wine, red wine contains more resveratrol. If you prefer white wine, simply eating grapes, or drinking grape juice, has been suggested as one way to get resveratrol without drinking alcohol. Red and purple grape juices may have some of the same heart-healthy benefits of red wine.

Other foods that contain some resveratrol include peanuts, blueberries and cranberries. It's not yet known how beneficial eating grapes or other foods might be compared with drinking red wine when it comes to promoting heart health. The amount of resveratrol in food and red wine can vary widely.

Red wine's potential heart-healthy benefits look promising. Those who drink moderate amounts of alcohol, including red wine, seem to have a lower risk of heart disease. However, more research is needed before we know whether red wine is better for your heart than are other forms of alcohol, such as beer or spirits.

Neither the American Heart Association nor the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommend that you start drinking alcohol just to prevent heart disease. Alcohol can be addictive and can cause or worsen other health problems. Drinking too much alcohol increases your risk of high blood pressure, high triglycerides, liver damage, obesity, certain types of cancer, accidents and other problems. In addition, drinking too much alcohol regularly can cause weakened heart muscle (cardiomyopathy), leading to symptoms of heart failure in some people.

If you already drink red wine, do so in moderation. For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than age 65, and up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger. The limit for men is higher because men generally weigh more and have more of an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol than women do. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or one and a half ounces or a shot of 80-proof distilled spirits. "To life," the traditional drinking toast goes. To which most researchers and health experts would add another: "In moderation."

Follow reporter Rachel Damgen at twitter.com/IPBG_Rachel.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2014 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Professional Opinion: Is red wine better for you than white wine?."