A little red wine could help protect you from stroke damage

Exercise, not smoking, eating well, what next? A small glass of red wine could be on your health list in the future, writes Lesley Dobson

To drink or not to drink? For anyone who’s interested in the effect alcohol has on their health, that’s been the question for a while. Scientists have been uncovering evidence that drinking too much alcohol is bad for us - higher risk of some cancers and heart attack, high blood pressure and liver problems for starters. On the other hand, scientists have also found evidence that drinking red wine in moderation may be good for your heart.

New research, published online in the journal Experimental Neurology, has added further evidence that red wine may be good for our health. Following a study on mice, researchers have discovered that resveratrol, a compound in the skins and seeds of red grapes may protect the brain from the damage that comes with a stroke.

The researchers divided the mice into two groups. They gave the mice in one group a small, single dose of resveratrol. Two hours later they induced an ischaemic stroke in both groups, (when blood supply to the brain is cut off).

The mice that had been given resveratrol suffered significantly less brain damage than those that hadn’t. Sylvain Doré, an associate professor of anaesthesiology and critical care medicine and pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, lead the research. He says the study suggests that resveratrol increases levels of an enzyme, heme oxygenase, that is already known to shield nerve cells in the brain from damage.

"Our study adds to evidence that resveratrol can potentially build brain resistance to ischaemic stroke," says Doré. This doesn’t mean that you should start downing resveratrol supplements. In fact Sylvain Doré cautions against it, as the evidence so far is unclear on whether these supplements could do harm or good.

Although resveratrol comes from red grapes, it may be that the alcohol in red wine is needed to concentrate the amounts of the compound. But that doesn’t mean that you should open another bottle of red wine. No-one knows yet how much resveratrol you need to give the best protection to the brain. And we don’t yet know which kind of red wine to choose, as different types of red wine contain different amounts of this compound.

In the end, the amount of resveratrol you need to protect your brain from stroke could be quite small. "Resveratrol itself may not be shielding brain cells from free radical damage directly. Instead resveratrol and its metabolites may be prompting the cells to defend themselves," says Doré.

"It’s not likely that brain cells can have high enough local levels of resveratrol to be protective," he says. The resveratrol is needed to jump-start this protective enzymatic system that is already present within the cells. "Even a small amount may be sufficient," Doré says. (The research is ongoing, so we can expect further news on this subject. Doré is also testing the effects of giving resveratrol to mice after a stroke. This work is also in it early stages, but so far results suggest that it may be beneficial.)

However tempting, don’t over-do it.  Too much booze will still be bad for your health. "We know that small amounts of alcohol seem to help protect against ischaemic strokes, which is a clot in the brain," says Andrea Lane, spokesperson for The Stroke Association. "Alcohol may help to thin the blood and reduce the risk of clots forming. However, even small amounts of alcohol can increase your risk of haemorrhagic stroke, which is a bleed."

"We recommend that people drink alcohol in moderation. This is 2-3 units a day for women and 3-4 units a day for men. Making lifestyle changes such as eating healthily, taking regular exercise and quitting smoking can all help to reduce your risk of stroke."

The figures above are the Government’s lower risk drinking guidelines. This means what it says, they are lower, but not necessarily low risk. "It’s certainly not a recommendation that you drink this much every day," says Thérèse Lyras, spokesperson for Alcohol Concern. "Everyone is different, we all have varying tolerance, and even a small amount of alcohol can contain an element of risk."