The fiber in red grapes helps the heart stay healthy. Tempranillo has been found to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
While the antioxidants in red wine are believed to help improve cardiovascular health, Spanish researchers say the grapes used to make red wine contain significant levels of fiber that also help strengthen the heart. They have found that the fiber and antioxidants in Tempranillo grapes appear to lower blood pressure and cholesterol better than other sources of dietary fiber, namely oats and psyllium.
The study, which is published in the July/August 2022 issue of the journal Nutrition, follows earlier experiments by the same team that found that drinking 300 ml of red wine a day could contribute to the recommended daily intake of soluble fiber in Spain.
For their latest research, the scientists, based at the Department of Metabolism and Nutrition at the Instituto del Frío in Madrid, wanted to evaluate the effects of a fiber-rich red wine grape on the cardiovascular system of healthy volunteers and those with high cholesterol.
The researchers chose the Tempranillo variety because they found it to have high levels of dietary fiber compared to white varieties. They recruited 27 women and 16 men, aged between 20 and 45 years, from the community of the Complutense University of Madrid, where their laboratory is located.
The subjects were randomly selected and were nonsmokers, and blood tests revealed that 25 had high blood pressure. Thirty-four of the subjects were asked to consume a tempranillo-based dietary fiber product developed at the Institute in 1998.
According to the study, the grape supplement contained 5.25 grams of dietary fiber and 1,400 mg of antioxidant polyphenols, such as procyanidin and catechin. By way of comparison, the American Heart Association recommends 25 to 30 grams per day of fiber to maintain a healthy heart and regulate metabolism. According to the study, the average intake of a Westerner is probably around 20 grams per day, while the Spanish intake is usually much lower.
After the trial period, the team examined blood samples and found that cholesterol levels were up to 14 percent lower in healthy individuals taking the supplement and almost 19 percent lower in those with high cholesterol at the start of the research. Cholesterol levels in the control group remained the same. Blood pressure was also reduced in both fiber supplement groups by 5 to 6 percent. Triglyceride levels also improved.
These results also turned out to be “more pronounced” than the findings of a USDA meta-analysis, published in a 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, of 55 studies examining similar effects of oat- and banana-based psyllium fibers.
Co-author Jara Perez-Jimenez explained that the results of non-wine Tempranillo on blood are promising because “the lack of alcohol effectively makes it suitable for those people who want to take in the beneficial polyphenols present in grapes and wine, but can’t or don’t want to drink alcohol.”
“This is particularly interesting for blood pressure reduction,” he continued. “Although red wine itself has shown in several studies a beneficial effect in relation to blood plasma, this has not been observed for blood pressure, as it is well known that alcohol intake [normally] increases blood pressure.”
Perez-Jimenez adds that regular intake of a grape-based dietary fiber supplement with a balanced and healthy diet can show a significant and positive effect on reducing cardiovascular risk factors.
“This may also apply to people with cardiovascular problems; however, we cannot yet propose it as an alternative to heart pills for those who already suffer from such problems, rather as a complement to their medical therapy.”
If you need more info, don’t hesitate to contact us!