Red Wine and Cholesterol
Does drinking red wine with red meat protect your heart? Nutrition Diva peeks behind the headlines to see what this latest research really tells us.
Nutrition Diva listener Ann writes: “I recently heard about a study that found that drinking red wine while eating red meat will stop cholesterol from staying in the body. Is there any truth to this?”
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There is some truth to this rumor, Ann. A study published earlier this year in the Journal of Functional Foods found that combining red wine with meat blocked the formation of a compound thought to be involved in the formation of LDL (or, “bad”) cholesterol in the body.
See also: The Difference Between LDL and HDL Cholesterol
But as the study made its way from the lab, to the press office, to the media, and finally to the public, an awful lot got lost in translation. Many of the headlines, for example, touted the benefits of drinking red wine with red meat or steak. The meat used in the study was actually ground turkey. Why? Because ground turkey is quite a bit higher in polyunsaturated fats, or PUFAs, than beef. During digestion, these PUFAs tend to become oxidized, giving rise to compounds that interact with cholesterol in a way that makes it more dangerous.
Surprise: Beef May Be More Heart-Healthy Than Turkey!
Many people assume that a turkey burger, which is lower in saturated fat and higher in PUFAs, would be more heart-healthy than a steak.
I want to pause before I go on, because what I just said may have surprised you. We’re used to hearing that saturated fat is the bad guy, linked to high cholesterol and heart disease. In fact, many people would assume that a turkey burger, which is lower in saturated fat and higher in PUFAs, would be more heart-healthy than a steak. And yet these researchers chose turkey over beef, because of its propensity to produce these cholesterol-damaging compounds.
See also: Chicken Versus Beef
Talking Turkey with Scientists
Researchers took 14 healthy volunteers and had them eat a turkey burger for breakfast, 4 days in a row. (Eating the burger for breakfast was the easiest way to ensure that their stomachs were completely empty.) Then they checked their blood for compounds associated with oxidized PUFAs.
Sure enough, the levels of those compounds went up every time they ate the burgers. For the second phase of the study, 6 of these subjects (the ones who had exhibited the biggest increases in oxidized PUFAs) repeated the entire study: 4 more turkey burger breakfasts. This time, however, the researchers wanted to see what would happen if they added red wine to the meal. They theorized that the polyphenols in red wine might prevent the oxidation of the PUFAs in the meat – thereby neutralizing this particular threat.
Unfortunately, they broke one of the cardinal rules of study design: They changed two things at once. In addition to giving the subjects a glass of red wine to drink with their breakfast burger, they ALSO treated the turkey meat with a polyphenol-rich red wine extract before they cooked it. Sure enough, when the subjects had this polyphenol-enhanced meal, they had a much smaller increase in oxidized PUFAs afterwards. (The fact that they showed up to work every day that week with wine on their breath was, well, it was all in the name of science.)
Telling people that drinking red wine with their turkey burger will block the formation of LDL cholesterol is pretty far-fetched.
The problem is that we have no idea whether the result was due to treating the meat with polyphenols or because of the red wine they drank with the meal. Maybe it was a little bit of both. But let’s just say that most of the effect was due to the meat treatment. In that case, it would be completely wrong to say that drinking red wine with meat blocks the formation of LDL cholesterol.
And, obviously, this study has nothing whatsoever to do with steak. Yet, what did the headlines read? “Drinking red wine with steak lowers cholesterol.” Honestly, this kind of thing makes me want to tear this cartoon tiara off my cartoon head and grind it into the ground under my sparkly cartoon heels.
Every Study Does Not Deserve a Headline
Seriously, aside from the bit about changing two things at once, I have no problem with this study. For researchers, it’s another snippet of evidence into the ways in which foods interact with each other and with our biology in ways that contribute to or decrease disease risk.
For scientists who know how to evaluate these findings and put them in their proper context, it’s useful information. But to pass this along to the public as evidence that drinking red wine with meat lowers heart disease risk is really putting the cart before the horse.
See also: Correlation vs. Causation
Eat Your Polyphenols!
In terms of real world applications, this study supports the idea that polyphenols have health benefits. But red wine is not the only way to get them. Artichokes, chocolate, flaxseed, apple juice, tea (black and green), berries, plums, hazelnuts, and coffee are also good sources.
Thanks, Ann, for your question. If you have a topic you’d like me to address or a study you’d like me to evaluate, feel free to email me at nutrition@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email or post your question on the Nutrition Diva Facebook page.
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About the Author
Monica Reinagel is a board-certified licensed nutritionist, author, and the creator of one of iTunes’ most highly ranked health and fitness podcasts. Her advice is regularly featured on the TODAY show, Dr. Oz, NPR, and in the nation’s leading newspapers, magazines, and websites. Do you have a nutrition question? Call the Nutrition Diva listener line at 443-961-6206. Your question could be featured on the show.
