August 30, 2019
In a study published Wednesday, August 28, researchers showed the positive effects of red wine on the intestinal flora.
Better diversity of the microbiota
Scientists from King’s College London studied 916 twin women living in the UK and their alcohol consumption: beer, red wine, hard liquor, etc. They noticed that women drinking red wine had better gut microbiota diversity compared to those who consumed other types of alcohol.
The interest of studying female twins was for researchers ofrule out genetic differences and focus more on environmental differences. In addition, the study confirms the results already obtained in the laboratory on animals.
Alcohol is bad for your health
Even if several previous studies have already shown the positive effects of polyphenols contained in the skin of grapes, the study remains to be put into perspective. Alcohol is indeed linked to 200 diseases such as cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, liver cancer and remains dangerous for health.
Thereby, the study does not justify an increase in the consumption of red wine in order to improve the balance of its intestinal microbiota. Besides, other foods such as blueberries, green tea, grapes and chocolate are also rich in polyphenols.
Stephanie Haerts
Read also : Cirrhosis: what is it?
