Alcoholic beverage and meal choices for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases: A randomized nutrigenomic trial

Abstract

Background. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the first cause of death worldwide. Mediterranean diet may play a crucial role in the prevention of NCDs, and the presence of wine in this diet could play a positive role on health. Methods. 54 healthy volunteers consumed one of the following beverages: red (RW) or white wine (WW), vodka (VDK), and/or Mediterranean meal (MeDM) and high-fat meal (HFM). Results. OxLDL-C changed significantly between baseline versus HFM, MeDM versus HFM, and HFM versus HFM+RW (p < 0.05). Significant upregulation of catalase (CAT) was observed only after RW. Conversely, WW, VDK, RW + MeDM, HF +WW, and HF +VDK determined a significant downregulation of CAT gene. Superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) gene expression was upregulated in WW, MeDM+ VDK, and RW. Contrariwise, HFM+VDK determined a downregulation of its expression. RW, RW+ MeDM, and RW+HFM caused the upregulation of glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPX1). Conclusions. Our results suggest that the association of low/moderate intake of alcohol beverages, with nutraceutical-proven effectiveness, and ethanol, in association with a Mediterranean diet, could determine a reduction of atherosclerosis risk onset through a positive modulation of antioxidant gene expression helping in the prevention of inflammatory and oxidative damages.