The influence of a Mediterranean Diet with and without Red Wine on the Haemostatic and Inflammatory Parameters of Subjects with the Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

This 8 week study examined whether a Mediterranean diet supplemented with red wine, had an acute impact on
subjects diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome. Twelve non-smoking subjects with diagnostic criteria of the
metabolic syndrome on minimal medication, consumed a Mediterranean-like diet for 4 weeks respectively without
and with red wine. The amount of red wine consumed was 250 ml (26 grams of alcohol) per day for male and 180
ml (19 grams) per day for female participants. A nutrigenetic profile for cardiovascular risk factors was performed
on each participant. Fasting blood specimens were taken at baseline, after the diet and after the diet with wine
interventions for platelet function, procoagulants FVII and FVIII, von Willebrand’s factor, fibrinogen, tissue
plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, highly sensitive C-reactive protein and oxygen radical
absorbance capacity (ORAC). After both periods of diet without wine and with wine, ORAC increased significantly
compared to baseline levels. Except for platelet H2O2 fluxes and FVII concentration, none of the haemostatic or
inflammatory parameters changed significantly after the intervention periods compared with baseline levels.
Genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease were identified in all study participants and the potential genotypic
effects relevant to this study were generally in agreement with expected phenotypic response following the dietary
intervention. Our conclusions are that the period of intervention was too short for substantial changes in
haemostatic or in inflammatory parameters in subjects who already manifest some changes in their cardiovascular
system and who showed diverse genetic profiles underlying increased cardiovascular risk.