Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 610,000 Americans die of heart disease each year. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining good heart health throughout your lives.

Simple changes to your lifestyle can help improve not only your heart health but also your overall well-being. Adding certain foods to your diet is one of the ways you can help give your heart a boost.

Red wine and onions are both great heart-healthy foods – but have you thought about eating them… together? A recent study from Taiwan discovered that red wine onion extract is significantly more effective at preventing the onset of cardiovascular disease than its two ingredients individually.

Can onions and red wine work together to protect the heart?

Red wine has long been studied for its health benefits. Aside from being a potent antioxidant, it’s been shown to improve biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease.

Onions, on the other hand, are also highly nutritious. These contain quercetin and other flavonoids that exhibit antioxidant properties.

Combining the two may seem odd, but in Southeast Asia, soaking diced onions in red wine creates a food called “red wine onion.” This unique combination has been reported to alleviate constipation, reduce cholesterol levels and alleviate diabetes and hypertension.

Researchers from the Chung Shan Medical University (CSMU) were interested in whether the red wine onion extract has cardioprotective properties. In particular, they wanted to determine if the extract could modify the lipid profile, antioxidant level and inflammatory biomarkers in healthy individuals.

For their study, the team gathered 23 volunteers who showed signs of high cholesterol levels. The participants were randomly distributed between two groups: One group drank eight ounces (250 milliliters) of red wine each day. The other group consumed an equivalent amount of red wine onion extract.

The treatment period lasted 10 weeks. Of the 13 members of the red wine onion extract group, two were forced to drop out because they could not handle the strong flavor of the extract.

During the trial, the CSMU research team measured the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein in each participant. The team also assessed other parameters, including body mass, body weight, height, and body mass index (BMI).

Red wine onions protect the heart by lowering bad cholesterol levels

The results of the CSMU experiment showed that both red wine and red wine onion extract increased antioxidant activity in the body. This, in effect, prevented the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, a process that could lead to cardiovascular diseases.

The red wine onion extract greatly reduced the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the people who took it. This hypocholesterolemic property may be attributed to the flavonoids from the onions that were added to the red wine. The extract also controlled biomarkers that triggered inflammation. Inflammatory conditions are a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases and other health problems.

In sum, the researchers concluded that red wine onion extract was superior to ordinary red wine when it came to protecting the heart from diseases. The extract improved the antioxidant activity and reduced the amount of cholesterol and inflammatory markers present. Thanks to these beneficial activities, red wine onion can reduce the chances of contracting cardiovascular diseases.

Sources:

Science.news

CDC.gov

OnlineLibrary.Wiley.com

NutraIngredients.com

PlantMedicineNews.com