This according to the website of the medical journal Cell Metabolism (as per Wine Spectator online).

Yet another article about resveratrol and its benefits. This one seems to contradict others that suggested that resveratrol extends life expectancy. Here the “researchers said the compound helps keep the bones, eyes, kidneys, heart and other muscles in mice healthier as they age, though without increasing the animals’ overall lifespan”.

The study compared the effects of resveratrol to those of another life enhancing therapy - caloric restriction (CR), (more…)

Cheers to red wine & a longer life!!!

The NY Times had a few wine related articles today.   The first, discussed a topic that has been written about frequently here, that of “resveratrol” - the wonder-drug contained in red wine.  Previous reports had indicated that the amount of resveratrol in wine were nowhere near enough to be effective from simple wine consumption.  But one of the sources in todays article notes “a mere four, five-ounce glasses of wine “starts getting close” to the amount of resveratrol they found effective”, as opposed to previous studies that determined that “to gain (sufficient) dosages people would have to drink more than 100 bottles of red wine a day”. An interesting read that can be found here.

The other article titled “What’s the Peppery Note in Those Shirazes?”, talked about Australian (where Shiraz originated) researchers who sought to find out why there are peppery notes in Australian Shiraz.  (more…)

I brought up the red wine compound resveratrol in a post early last week. Discussing yet another article I found (thanks to Wine Spectator online emails) that brought up studies regarding the health benefits of resveratrol.

Well, I got another email today, this time discussing researchers in Taiwan who believe that the benefits of resveratrol are most effective not when taken orally, rather when received through the skin, as is possible through a patch.

Click here for the complete article.

Who would’ve thunk it, a patch to get your red wine fix

Happy….red wine…..wearing?????….creative consuming……ahhh, I don’t know. Drink up!

WTG

I’ll be attending the Wine Enthusiast “Toast of the Town” tasting later today and will have a full report posted by tomorrow. In the meantime I want to write a quick post about a compound found in red wine that is frequently mentioned as its health benefits have been cited in multiple studies.

Resveratrol is the antioxidant compound found in the skins & seeds of grapes. Since red wine is made by extracting color and flavors from the skins (and generally has the seeds in place during fermentation) Resveratrol is found (in low levels) in red wine.

I bring this up today simply as Wine Spectator online has an article in its Wine & Health section that cites two studies taking place where researchers are examining the benefits of harnessing Resveratrol & using it to treat cells associated with diseases. The article can be found here.

It should be noted however that studies surrounding Resveratrol in red wine have shown that one needs to consume a massive amount of red wine to realize the benefits Resveratrol has to offer. And while many still believe that regularly drinking (moderate amounts) of red wine is healthy, they are unsure if one reaps any of the health benefits Resveratrol has to offer from normal wine consumption. That said there is extensive research being done to find ways to administer Resveratrol in methods other than red wine consumption and the article mentions an R & D company researching Resveratrol that was recently purchased for $172M…so there must be something to this…

Happy HEALTHY COMPOUND wine tasting…& Happy Monday!

WTG