Resveratrol

The study conducted on mice by the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Aging, finds that resveratrol negates the negative effects of a high-fat, high-calorie diet, a finding which experts are calling remarkable. In the study, one-year-old mice were split into three groups, a control group of mice fed a normal diet, a group fed a high-fat (60% fat), high calorie diet, and a group fed the same high-fat, high-calorie diet plus resveratrol. Within six months both groups of mice on the special diet had grown fat. However after a year, the mice which were also receiving the resveratrol seemed healthier. They did not develop the insulin resistance (a diabetes-like disease), heart disease or liver damage that their counterparts did. In addition, the group getting the resveratrol had a 31% lower risk of death. Now, mice and humans are quite different and what helps mice may not help people. Nonetheless this is very exciting news to the aging US population, particularly when added to the existing positive body of research on resveratrol.

Unrelated research presented at the 71st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Las Vegas last month found that drinking 3 glasses of red wine per week can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 68%.² It is believed that the resveratrol content in the red wine is the active component impacting this risk.

Dr. Joseph Anderson and his colleagues from the Stony Brook University conducted the study on 360 red and white wine drinkers with similar lifestyles and found that the red wine drinkers had a 68% lower chance of colorectal cancer than the white wine drinkers. Resveratrol is a naturally occurring compound in grape skins that seems to help the grapes resist fungus. As any wine aficionado can tell you, the main difference in the production of red wine and white wine is the presence (or absence) of the grape skin during the wine-making process. With white wine, the skin is removed almost immediately at pressing whereas the skin is left in the juice during the fermentation of red wine. Generally red wines have more resveratrol than whites, but even among red wine the amount of resveratrol can vary drastically, from as little as 0.2mg per liter to 5.8 mg per liter. It all depends on the type of grape and the growing season. Typically darker reds (cabernets and zinfandels) have more resveratrol than lighter-bodied reds.

Don't drink much red wine, or don't want the added calories and nitrates? You may be able to get some of the same benefits with our OPC Grape Seed Extract, PomeHealth™ Pomegranate Extract with Resveratrol or High Potency Liver Support with Resveratrol.

^1. Baur, J. A., K. J. Pearson, et al. (2006). "Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet." advanced online publication.

^2. Anderson, J. (2006). 1st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, Las Vegas, Nev.