Red wine and something in wine called resveratrol might be heart healthy. Learn more.
Red wine has long been touted as heart healthy. Some have suggested that the apparent health benefits of red wine, namely reducing your risk of heart disease, are behind the so-called French paradox. The French are regular drinkers of red wine and have relatively high amounts of saturated fat in their diet. Despite this fat intake, the French have lower rates of heart disease.
While the news about red wine might sound great if you enjoy a glass of red wine with your evening meal, doctors are wary of encouraging anyone to drink alcohol because too much alcohol can have a host of harmful effects on your body.
But despite the caution, doctors do agree that something in red wine appears to help your heart, though it's unclear just exactly what that "something" is. Recent research has indicated a substance called resveratrol, which is found in the skin and seeds of grapes used to make wine, has promising heart-healthy benefits.
Resveratrol isn't the only substance in red wine that looks promising. The alcohol in red wine also appears to be heart healthy. Understand what's known — and not known — about red wine and its possible heart-health benefits.
How does alcohol help the heart?
Various studies have indicated that moderate amounts of all types of alcohol benefit your heart, not just alcohol found in red wine. Some heart-healthy benefits of alcohol include:
- Raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol
- Inhibits the formation of blood clots
- Helps prevent artery damage caused by high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol
Is red wine better?
Red wine in particular seems to have even more heart-health benefits than other types of alcohol, according to a large Danish study from 2000. The study, known as the Copenhagen City Heart Study, found that those who drank red wine had about half the risk of dying of heart disease as those who didn't.
Additional studies have given mixed results — some confirming the Danish finding, others showing red wine isn't any better than beer, white wine or liquor for heart health. As a result, the American Heart Association says there's no clear evidence yet that red wine is superior to other forms of alcohol when it comes to possible heart-health benefits.
The pro-red wine studies suggest antioxidants in red wine called polyphenols help protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart. These antioxidants come in two main forms: flavonoids and nonflavonoids.
- Flavonoids. These antioxidants are found in a variety of foods, including oranges, apples, onions, tea and cocoa. Other types of alcohol, such as white wine and beer, contain small amounts, too, but red wine has higher levels.
- Nonflavonoids. These antioxidants found in red wine have recently been of particular interest because they appear to help prevent arteries from becoming clogged with fatty blockages. However, these studies mostly involved mice — not humans. Resveratrol is the nonflavonoid that researchers are most interested in.
Resveratrol in red wine
Some researchers believe that resveratrol might be the key ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces "bad" cholesterol and prevents blood clots.
Research in mice given resveratrol has indicated that the antioxidant might also help protect them from obesity and diabetes, both of which are strong risk factors for heart disease. However, those findings were reported only in mice, not in people. In addition, to achieve the dose of resveratrol used in the mice studies, a person would have to consume 100 to 1,000 bottles of red wine a day.
Some companies sell supplements containing resveratrol. However, doctors caution that not enough is known about resveratrol's effects to endorse resveratrol supplements. Research into the potential heart-health benefits of resveratrol is continuing.
Why a C-section might be needed
Sometimes a C-section is safer for mother or baby than is a vaginal delivery. Your health care provider may recommend a C-section if:
- Your labor isn't progressing. Stalled labor is the most common reason for a C-section. Perhaps your cervix isn't opening enough despite strong contractions. Or your baby's head may simply be too big to pass through the birth canal.
- Your baby's heartbeat suggests reduced oxygen supply. If your baby isn't getting enough oxygen or your health care provider is concerned about changes in your baby's heartbeat, he or she may recommend a C-section.
- Your baby is in an abnormal position. Babies whose feet or buttocks enter the birth canal before the head are in the breech position. If your health care provider isn't able to move the baby into a more favorable position before labor begins, you may need a C-section to reduce the risk of complications. A C-section is also needed if your baby is lying horizontally across your uterus.
- Your baby's head is in the wrong position. If your baby enters the birth canal chin up or with the top of the forehead or face leading the way, he or she may not fit through your pelvis. A C-section may be the safest way to deliver the baby.
- You're carrying twins, triplets or other multiples. When you're carrying multiple babies, it's common for one or more of the babies to be in an abnormal position. In this case, Caesarean birth is often safer than vaginal birth — especially for the second baby.
- There's a problem with your placenta. If the placenta detaches from your uterus before labor begins (placental abruption) or the placenta covers the opening of your cervix (placenta previa), C-section is often the safest option.
- There's a problem with the umbilical cord. A C-section may be recommended if a loop of umbilical cord slips through your cervix ahead of your baby or if the cord is compressed by the uterus during contractions.
- Your baby is very large. Some babies are simply too big to safely deliver vaginally.
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You have a health problem. If you have a condition such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease or high blood pressure, your health care provider may induce labor early to reduce the risk of pregnancy-related complications. If the induction isn't successful, you may need a C-section.
In other cases, a C-section may be recommended if you have an active genital herpes infection or another condition your baby might acquire while passing through your birth canal.
- Your baby has a health problem. A C-section may be safer for babies with certain developmental problems, such as failure of the spine to close properly (spina bifida) or excess fluid in the brain (hydrocephalus).
- You've had a previous C-section. Depending on the type of incision and various other factors, you may be able to attempt a vaginal delivery after a previous C-section. In some cases, however, your health care provider may recommend a repeat C-section.
Understand possible complications
Recovery from a C-section takes longer than recovery from a vaginal birth. Caesarean delivery also carries a higher risk of complications, just as with other types of major surgery.
Complications that may affect the baby include:
- Breathing problems. Babies born by C-section are more likely to develop a breathing problem marked by abnormally fast breathing during the first few days after birth (transient tachypnea).
- Fetal injury. Although rare, accidental nicks to the baby's skin can occur during surgery.
Complications for the mother may include:
- Inflammation and infection of the membrane lining the uterus. This condition — known as endometritis — may cause fever, chills, back pain, foul-smelling vaginal discharge and uterine pain. It's often treated with intravenous antibiotics.
- Increased bleeding. You may lose up to twice as much blood with a C-section than with a vaginal birth. However, blood transfusions are rarely needed.
- Urinary tract infection. You may develop a urinary tract infection in the bladder or kidneys.
- Decreased bowel function. Any abdominal surgery may slow the movement of waste material through your intestines. Some medications for pain relief may further contribute to this problem, leading to constipation.
- Reactions to anesthesia. After regional anesthesia, a small number of women may experience a headache caused by a leak of the fluid around the spinal canal into the tissues of the back. This can be treated effectively, but can slow recovery. Allergic or adverse reactions to the anesthetic also are possible.
- Blood clots. The risk of developing a blood clot inside a vein — especially in the legs or pelvic organs — is about three to five times greater after a C-section than after a vaginal delivery. If a blood clot travels to your lungs, the damage can be life-threatening. Your doctors will take steps to prevent blood clots. You can help, too, by walking frequently soon after surgery.
- Wound infection. An infection at or around the incision site is possible. When a wound is infected, it may open at the skin and release pus.
- Additional surgeries. Although rare, surgical injuries to nearby organs can occur during a C-section. If this happens, additional operations may be needed.
It's also important to consider the impact of a C-section on subsequent pregnancies. After a C-section, you face a higher risk of potentially serious complications — including bleeding, prolonged labor, abnormal fetal positions and tearing of the uterus along the scar line from the prior C-section (uterine rupture) — in the next pregnancy than you would after a vaginal delivery.
Last Updated: 03/09/2007
