FIGURE 1.

Study design. A total of 42 patients with established coronary artery disease were randomly selected for 1 of the 2 groups in the crossover study involving red wine (RW) consumption for 3 wk or alcohol abstention for 3 wk. All patients were evaluated over 5 in-hospital visits for anthropometrics and clinical and nutritional assessments. After an initial evaluation, there was a 2-wk washout period when patients were instructed not to consume alcoholic beverages, fermented foods (yogurt, kombucha, soy lecithin, kefir, sauerkraut, and other fermented veggies), synthetic prebiotics (insulin, fructooligosaccharides), fiber, dairy, food polyphenols (grapes, grape juice, cranberries, strawberries), and probiotics. Samples were collected after the first 2-wk washout period, and patients were randomly assigned for a 3-wk intervention with RW consumption (250 mL/d, 5 d/wk) or 3 wk of alcohol abstention. After these 3 wk, new blood and stool samples were collected, and another 2-wk washout period was implemented. Then, new samples were collected, and patients crossed over: the group that received RW was instructed to abstain from alcohol for 3 wk, and the group that abstained from alcohol in the first 3 wk received RW. After the second 3-wk period, stool and blood samples were collected in both groups. In 20 randomly selected patients (10 from each group), plasma metabolomics was analyzed after the 2 washout periods and after the intervention with RW and abstention.