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| Can Red Wine Help You live Longer? |
By Kelli Miller Stacy
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas, MD, FACC
June 6, 2008 -- Here's a new reason to toast red wine: A natural
compound called resveratrol, found in certain red wines, may
trick the body into thinking it's getting fewer calories than it
actually is -- and you don't need to overindulge to reap the
reward.
Research published in the June 3 issue of the online,
open-access journal Public Library of Science One (PLoS One)
suggests that drinking red wine may offer many of the same
benefits as a reduced-calorie diet.
A team of international researchers found that low doses of
resveratrol slowed the aging process in middle-aged mice and
improved their overall heart health. Specifically, the results
observed in the resveratrol-fed mice mimicked those often seen
with caloric restriction -- the practice of cutting 20%-30% of
calories out of one's typical diet in an effort to improve health and
prolong life. Numerous studies have linked caloric restriction to a
longer, healthier life.
What's more, the study researchers discovered that resveratrol is
active in much lower doses than previously thought. Until now,
researchers believed that high doses of resveratrol -- impossible
to obtain by drinking wine -- were necessary to ward off the
unhealthy consequences of eating a high-fat, high-calorie diet.
"This brings down the dose of resveratrol toward the
consumption reality mode," study researcher Richard Weindruch,
a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of medicine and a
researcher at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans
Hospital, says in a news release.
The researchers believe their findings provide strong evidence
that resveratrol can improve one's quality of life and call the idea
of low-dose resveratrol supplementation -- in the form of wine or
perhaps one day a pill -- "a robust intervention in the retardation
of cardiac aging."
Drinking one or two glasses of red wine each day can protect
against cardiovascular disease in certain people. However, more
than that can result in negative effects that outweigh the positive
ones. For example, drinking too much alcohol can raise the levels
of triglycerides in some people.
Finally, drinking red wine does not completely negate poor
lifestyle choices. The calorie-restricted mice had lower rates of
cancer. There was no comparable reduction in the incidence of
tumors in the resveratrol-supplemented mice. So attaining and
maintaining a normal weight, eating a sensible diet, and engaging
in regular exercise remain important components for living a long
and healthy life.
SOURCES:
News release, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Barger, J. PLoS One, published online June 3, 2008.
| Drinking Red Wine Offers Benefits Similar to Low-Calorie Diet |
