Red Wine

[Mike Stenson (RIP)]

 Washington - A compound in red wine may ward off a variety of medical conditions related to aging, providing heart benefits, stronger bones and preventing eye cataracts, researchers said on Thursday.

The study, involving mice fed a diet supplemented with resveratrol starting in their equivalent of middle age, is the latest to raise hope that the compound or drugs based on it may improve the health of people.

Most of mice given resveratrol did not live longer than other mice but were far more healthy in several important measures, according to the study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

"The good news is we can increase health. I think that's more important than increasing life span," David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, who led the study along with Rafael de Cabo of the US government's National Institute on Aging, said in a telephone interview.

Increased health

The mice in the study that were fed a high-calorie diet supplemented with resveratrol outlived those getting a high-calorie diet without the compound, the researchers said.

"Resveratrol wiped out the negative effect of the high fat," de Cabo said in a telephone interview.

Resveratrol, found in abundance in grapes and in red wine, has drawn a lot of interest from scientists and some companies, including GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L>, which this year paid $720m to buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc, a company developing drugs that mimic the effects of resveratrol.

Sirtris scientists were involved in the study. Sinclair helped found Sirtris and is co-chairperson of its scientific advisory board.

In the study, some mice were fed a standard diet, some a high-calorie diet and some got food only every other day.

The researchers then began giving some of the mice resveratrol in either low or high doses when they were 12 months old, roughly the same as 35 years old in a person.

Health benefits

The mice given resveratrol experienced broad health benefits compared to mice not given the compound, they said.

The mice given resveratrol tended to have less age-related or obesity-related cardiovascular functional decline.

Their total cholesterol was reduced, their aortas functioned better and resveratrol seemed to moderate inflammation in the heart, the researchers said.

These mice also had better bone health than those not given the compound as determined by thickness, volume, mineral content and density, as well as reduced cataract formation in the eyes and better balance and motor coordination, the researchers said.

The genes of the mice given resveratrol were active in a way similar to mice on a very low-calorie diet previously shown to slow the aging process and extend life span in some animals.

The study was a follow-up to one published in 2006 showing resveratrol improved health and longevity of overweight mice.

De Cabo said while the new findings are promising, it would be premature for people to start taking resveratrol supplements to improve health, saying a potent compound like this might interact in uncertain ways with other drugs.

[SandyB]

I do not  wait for medical science  to prove or disprove  .. I have always drunk red wine ..

[Michele Alexander (Voden)]

Red grape juice doesn't fall into the same category as red wine!

Look what it made you do 



But thanks for the  !

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

Enough said.....Red Red wine lalalala 

[Michael Alexander]

Stennie only posted that article because he was trying to convince me that drinking red Monis Grape Juice was healthy for one, only because when we braai'd last night , I was drinking real man beer and due to the fact that he was on standby he stuck to the cooldrink......   

[Bertie Horak]

I'm still alive - had some red wine and was miraculously revived!

Yes, Resveratrol is good for you.  It is found in the skins and pips of the most red grapes. 
All the effects Mike mentioned (in the article) is secondary effects.  Resveratrol is simply an excellent anti-oxidant - so it removes or breaks down products of metabolism and the environment which is damaging to body cells.  It is also ant-inflammatory.  (Inflammation weakens cells - therefore easier to be damaged).

So, let's have some red wine.  Sorry Mike, not as much benefits in grape juice - all the skins and pips are removed before the juice is made!

[Michele Alexander (Voden)]

Okay Mike S - you were right, we might as well eat the grapes just like they are!

[Bertie Horak]

Mike S & Michele - hope you have big stomaches - you need to eat quite a lot of grapes to consume the same amount that is already nicely concentrated in a small glass of wine!

Therefor - glass of wine = much easier!

[Diana Rudd (Boehme)]

   THE DOCTOR has spoken.....

[Mike Stenson (RIP)]

How about grape jam....lots of skins and pips.

[Rhona]

Grape jam!!! you sick little puppy 

[Mike Stenson (RIP)]

Grape jam!!! you sick little puppy 

[Rhona]

You don't scare me - I'll take you on 
     

[georg ruf jr.]

And I thought this is all about red wine.

[Michele Alexander (Voden)]

  did you hear that now?

Surely you should know by now - nothing is ever as it seems!

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