White wine discovered to be just as heart-healthy as red

STORRS, Conn. When it comes to red wine, we already knew a glass or two a day helps keep the doctor away. But now a new study at the University of Connecticut has found white wine to have just as many healthbenefits. Both contain types of antioxidants that contribute to a healthy heart.

The researchers gave one group of rats white wine, another red, another water and yet another straight grain alcohol. Both the white and red wine-drinking groups suffered less damage from induced heart attacks than the other groups.

The antioxidant resveratrol, found in grape-skin, is responsible for the health benefits of red wine. Because white wine is made from the grape’s pulp, which does not contain resveratrol, it was originally thought white wine did not possess the health benefit of protecting against heart disease and cancer. However, other chemicals in white wine protect mitochondria, the part of cells that supplies energy. The groups of rats given wine were discovered to have healthier mitochondria.

According to molecular biologist Dipak Das, “We can safely say that one or two glasses of white wine per day acts exactly like red wine.”