Red wine contains a large amount of a chemical known as resveratrol, which research has linked to improving the health of mice.
When mice were given a certain dose of resveratrol, their health showed signs of improvement — even if they ate fatty and unhealthy diets.
As The New York Times writes:
“[R]esveratrol could turn plain vanilla, couch-potato mice into champion athletes, making them run twice as far on a treadmill before collapsing. ”
The problem was the dose was more than any human could consume by just drinking red wine. In earlier studies, the amount of resveratrol given to mice could only be matched by drinking over 100 bottles of red wine a day, reported Times.
But new research by the University of Wisconsin found that much less resveratrol was needed to have the same health benefits.
The point of the Times article was that resveratrol may activate a protein called sirtuins. These proteins when “activated ” may slow aging — and could be used to treat degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Whether or not red wine reverses aging is still far from being confirmed, but are there other health benefits of red wine?
We mentioned resveratrol above, so what is it?
Resveratrol is a polyphenol and has antioxidant properties. More specifically, resveratrol is a nonflavonoid polyphenol, which is similar to the flavonoid polyphenol found in chocolate. There are also some polyphenols other than resveratrol in red wine.
Resveratrol is more abundant in red wine because skin is left on in the making of red wine. The skin is removed in white wine.
Antioxidants protect living cells and may help prevent cancer, blood vessel damage, blood clots, and reduce cholesterol.
But the American Heart Association reminds us drinking an excess of alcohol can lead to many different kinds of health problems, and of course, alcoholism.
While red wine may have some nice health benefits, be sure to consume only in moderation.