Red
wine may truly be a "wondrous drug!" Not only has the resveratrol wine
contains so far been proven to extend the life of yeast, worms, flies,
and fish, other studies have shown that wine, especially red wine, can
help prevent colds, increase the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol,
lower the risk of Alzheimer's, reduce the size and number of fat cells
in the body, reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and has
anti-inflammatory properties to boot.
Longevity interests a lot of people who aren't ready to give up their
lives, just yet, and who look to healthy alternatives to culturally
defined eating patterns and "health care."
The benefits of drinking wine have been touted for a while and are
thought, by some, to be the reason why the French can get away with
eating a high fat diet while enjoying a low rate of coronary disease.
A few years ago, a study by French research team also found that men
who regularly drank at least two glasses of wine daily were 50 percent
less likely than non-drinkers to suffer a second heart attack.
Previous studies with yeast, a small species of worm, and fruit flies
have shown that resveratrol -- a polyphenol antioxidant found in
grapes, especially red grapes, and particularly pinot noir grapes which
are grown in northern latitudes and used in wines coming from New York,
Washington, and Oregon -- is a life-extending compound.
In a new study from Italy, resveratrol has been used to increase the
life span of a short-lived breed of tropical fish by more than 50%. Not
only did fish given resveratrol in their food live longer than the
control group, they stayed livelier as they aged and displayed better
memory in stimulus/response tests. And the neurons in their brains
didn't decay as quickly when they died and were dissected.
Resveratrol, an organic compound contained in the skins of grapes that
protects them from disease, is extracted from grapes by the wine making
process. The wine becomes a preservative for the resveratrol and
prevents its oxidation.
That's why drinking grape juice or eating raisins doesn't have the same
effect; the resveratrol has neither been extracted nor preserved. It's
also been shown that resveratrol in food supplements oxidizes upon
exposure to air and loses its effectiveness.
Red wine may truly be a "wondrous drug!"
Other studies have shown that wine, especially red wine, can help
prevent colds, increase the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, lower the
risk of Alzheimer's, reduce the size and number of fat cells in the
body, reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and has anti-inflammatory
properties to boot.
Drug companies are trying to copy Red wine may truly be a "wondrous
drug!", but might not be able to preserve it's health-preserving
benefits. Besides, resveratrol is freely available in red wine and not
patentable as such.
