If you're already drinking a glass of wine every day then you're on the path to keeping your kidneys healthy, according to a new study that will clearly put a smile on every vineyard owner's face.
"Those [with healthy kidneys] who drank less than one glass of wine a day had a 37 percent lower risk of having chronic kidney disease than those who drank no wine," said study author Dr. Tapan Mehta, a renal Fellow at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, in Aurora.
And the advice holds true even for those at a high risk for heart issues, as moderate wine consumption might just help that condition as well.
"Those with chronic kidney disease who drank less than one glass a day had a 29 percent lower risk of cardiovascular events [than those who drank no wine]," Mehta added.
The news comes in the midst of several reports regarding marijuana use and the health impact from just light social recreational use.
The study was set to be presented at the National Kidney Foundation conference this week and is considered preliminary until formal publication in a peer-reviewed publication.
The study involved analysis of data from the 2003 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination that included nearly 6,000 people, with about 1,000 dealing with chronic kidney disease. The ailment boosts the potential of cardiovascular disease. The foundation estimates that 26 million Americans are suffering from kidney disease, which is most often caused by high blood pressure and diabetes.
Mehta said the connection between heart disease and kidney disease is what sparked his research effort. Why wine may play a role has not been deeply reviewed, but it may have something to do with lowering a person's protein level.
There's no determination whether drinking white wine is better than red, or vice versa, but Mehta leans toward red given previous studies.
The big issue, say researchers, is the wine intake needs to be moderate and they say if you don't drink wine or alcohol now it's not time to start.
