More wine! The American Heart Association now recommends 3 glasses of red wine per week

It turns out that there are medical incentives to have Following only two glasses of wine a week which has nothing to do with visiting your mother-in-law.

A new study published in the journal American Heart Association, Hypertension, determined that drinking three glasses of red wine a week can help maintain healthy blood pressure.

Why is red wine good for your heart?

Red wine is rich in flavonoids, which are plant pigments that have anti-inflammatory properties. They are found naturally in berries, apples, tea, wine, and dark chocolate.

Over time, regular consumption of flavonoids induces persistent changes in the community of bacteria that live in our stomachs called the gut microbiome. These changes affect various cardiovascular functions, including the regulation of blood pressure.

“Our gut microbiome plays a key role in metabolizing flavonoids to enhance their cardioprotective effects, and this study provides evidence to suggest that these hypotensive effects are achievable with simple modifications to the daily diet,” said the principal investigator of the study Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., Chairman and Professor of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

When it comes to cardiovascular health, three glasses of red wine equated to 80 grams of berries (or one cup of berries). Participants who adhered to either value reduced their systolic blood pressure by 12%.

The participants were between 25 and 82 years old.

The benefits of red wine don’t stop with blood pressure

Participants in the new study who ate the most foods rich in flavonoids not only lowered their systolic blood pressure, but also exhibited a more diverse gut microbiome than participants who ate the lowest levels of foods rich in flavonoids.

A diverse gut microbiome accounted for up to 15.2% of the association between foods rich in flavonoids and systolic blood pressure.

Additionally, a diverse gut microbiome has been independently associated with improved cognitive function, cardiovascular health, and weight regulation.

Specifically, many chemicals important for stabilizing mood called neurotransmitters are made in the gut and depend on different species of bacteria to function properly.

A recent study published in The Lancet made similar conclusions on the impact of gut bacteria on various cardiovascular diseases.

The authors found that gut bacteria can help break down cholesterol and even control food cravings – by allowing us to get more nutrients from our food, thus making us feel full more quickly.

How to diversify your gut microbiome

The authors say that if you don’t already drink alcohol, you should consider other healthier sources of flavonoids like vegetables, legumes, beans, fruits, fermented foods (like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha and yogurt) and whole grains. All of this makes your gut microbiome more diverse.