I am interested to know if de-alcoholised red wine (e.g. wine with 0.5% alcohol) has the same beneficial effects as alcoholic red wine. Can anyone help with this question? Many thanks!

Hi. A small study – “Influence of red wine polyphenols and ethanol on the gut microbiotica ecology..” Queipo Ortuno et al, in Amer J Clin Nutr, 2012 – is summarised Michael Mosley’s Clever Guts Diet book on page 118. He says that “..the researchers found.. ..that when the volunteers were drinking the red wine, and to a lessert extent when they drank de-alcoholised wine, there were significant drops in blood pressure, in C-reactive protein (CRP – a measure of inflammation) and in their triglyceride levels (the amount of fat circulating in the blood). Not sure how conclusive this study is, but would suggest it sounds quite positive.
Regards..
Andrew

Many thanks, Andrew. Tim Spector also makes reference to this study in his book The Diet Myth. As you say, it sounds quite positive.
Best regards,
Alison.