Close X
Friday, November 8, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Red Wine Before Smoking Can Offset Damage To Blood Vessels

Darpan News Desk IANS, 16 Nov, 2016 12:33 PM
  • Red Wine Before Smoking Can Offset Damage To Blood Vessels
A glass or two of red wine before lighting up a cigarette can counteract some of the short-term negative effects of smoking on blood vessels, a study says.
 
"The aim of our study was to investigate the acute vascular effects of red wine consumption prior to 'occasional lifestyle smoking' in healthy individuals," explained lead investigator Viktoria Schwarz from University of Saarland, Homburg. 
 
"We found evidence that preconsumption of red wine prevented most of the vascular injury caused by smoking," Schwarz noted.
 
Drinking red wine is widely regarded as protective against cardiovascular disease. 
 
Cigarette smoke causes acute endothelial damage, vascular and systemic inflammation, and cellular aging. 
 
Red wine stimulates the formation of endothelium-dependent relaxation factors such as nitric oxide, which improve endothelial function in coronary arteries possibly because of the high phenol concentration in red wine.
 
The study, published in the The American Journal of Medicine, examined the effects of smoking on various biochemical processes in the blood and vessels of 20 healthy non-smokers who volunteered to smoke three cigarettes. 
 
Half of the participants drank red wine one hour before smoking, in an amount calculated to result in 0.75 per cent blood alcohol content. 
 
Blood and urine were collected before and after drinking and smoking and continued until 18 hours after smoking.
 
Smoking is known to cause microparticles to be released into the bloodstream. These particles come from endothelial cells, platelets, and monocytes and indicate that cells in the blood vessels are being damaged. 
 
Researchers found that in participants who consumed red wine before smoking, these cellular changes did not occur.
 
Since the study was limited to young, healthy nonsmokers, it is not clear whether these findings apply to the elderly, the ill, or chronic smokers, the study said.

MORE Health ARTICLES

Negative social talks trigger hypertension in women

Negative social talks trigger hypertension in women
If you want to keep away from hypertension, avoid negative interpersonal interactions. Unpleasant or demanding interpersonal encounters increase hypertension risk among older adults, especially women, new research warns.

Negative social talks trigger hypertension in women

Beware, some low-fat foods may trick you on calorie intake

Beware, some low-fat foods may trick you on calorie intake
Do you often opt for low-calorie food to shed some extra kilos? This may stun you: New research reveals some low-fat foods actually have more calories than regular food - owing to added sugars.

Beware, some low-fat foods may trick you on calorie intake

Lose weight and liven up your sex life

Lose weight and liven up your sex life
It is time to run, jog, join the gym, hit the park or just begin walking to tuck in your tummy as losing even a moderate amount of weight can help improve your sex life.

Lose weight and liven up your sex life

Exercise To Quit Tobacco

Exercise To Quit Tobacco
If you are looking to ditch tobacco, make sure you include at least 15-20 minutes of physical exercise each day to maintain unwavering focus on quitting, a fitness expert said Saturday on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day.

Exercise To Quit Tobacco

Want to maintain slim waistline? Eat prunes

Want to maintain slim waistline? Eat prunes
Losing weight is one thing and maintaining that slim figure is quite another as most overweight people tend to regain the lost weight soon - unless you are in love with prunes!

Want to maintain slim waistline? Eat prunes

Workplace ostracism more damaging than bullying

Workplace ostracism more damaging than bullying
If your colleagues give you the cold shoulder at work, this can not only make your urge to quit the job stronger but also do more harm to your health than bullying.

Workplace ostracism more damaging than bullying