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Article: Red wine lessens heart disease risk, study finds
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- December 20, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Researchers say they have discovered the key component in red
wine that explains the French Paradox, or the way the French can eat
lots of cheese, buttery sauces and other rich foods and still suffer
less heart disease than Americans.
The explanation is pigments known as polyphenols.
The pigments are not present in white wine or rose, and they seem
to be less potent when they are present in grape juice.
Polyphenols inhibit the production of a peptide that contributes
to hardening of the arteries, researchers report in today's issue of
the journal Nature.
In laboratory dish experiments, polyphenols in red wine decreased
the amount of the peptide endothelin-1 produced by cells taken from
the ...