Red Wine — Good Drinking & Good Health Too?

Kurt Brouwer June 5th, 2008

I’m all for health studies that demonstrate good effects from things I like to do. Here’s one from Reuters [emphasis added]:

Red wine compound seen protecting heart from aging (Reuters, June 3, 2008, Will Dunham)

A natural compound found in red wine may protect the heart against the effects of the aging process, researchers said on Tuesday.

In their study, mice were given a diet supplemented with the compound known as resveratrol starting at their equivalent of middle age until old age.

These mice experienced changes in their gene activity related to aging in a way very similar to mice that were placed on a so-called calorie restriction diet that slows the aging process by greatly cutting dietary energy intake.

Most striking was how the resveratrol, like calorie restriction, blocked the decline in heart function typically associated with aging, according to Tomas Prolla, a University of Wisconsin professor of genetics who helped lead the study.

…Resveratrol, found in abundance in grapes and in red wine, has drawn a lot of interest from scientists.

…Some studies have shown that in high doses, resveratrol extended the life span of fruit flies and worms and prevented early death in mice fed a high-fat diet.

…”Resveratrol at low doses can retard some aspects of the aging process, including heart aging, and it may do so by mimicking some of the effects of caloric restriction, which is known to retard aging in several tissues and extend life span,” added Prolla, whose study was published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

…They looked at the heart, brain and muscles, and said that the effect of resveratrol was strongest in the heart but did prevent some aging-related changes in the other tissues.

Just because mice had these benefits does not mean people also would, although Prolla said, “I think there’s a high likelihood that our findings are applicable to humans.”

He said he expected to see a lot of studies in the coming years on the effects of resveratrol supplementation in people…

I’m sure many of us have already conducted ’studies’ in this phenomenon. If scientists want to look into the benefits of red wine, that’s good too.

Via: Instapundit

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