When picking a wine to drink for health, opt for a glass of red over white, right? Wrong. New research shows white wine also has cardioprotective benefits.
A study published in September in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry compared the antioxidant effects of resveratrol (from red) and tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol (from white) on rats. The results suggest that white wine is just as powerful as red in improving heart function and preventing artery blockage. “We tested a variety of wines,” says Dipak K. Das, a professor at the University of Connecticut school of medicine, who led the study. “We found that white wines are rich in a type of antioxidant composition that is similarly present in olive oil.”
But not all white wines pack the same antioxidant punch. Das has tested wines from all over the globe and recommends certain European white wines — those from Italy, France and Germany — as being rich in tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol. “In general, it can safely be said that some whites from Europe are as good as red wine from anywhere for heart health.”
One thing hasn’t changed: Stick to a glass a day.
