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Resveratrol: Wonder Drug In Red Wine
By Dr. Harold Gunatillake – Health writer
If apples keep you away from the doctor, Resveratrol found in red wine and in plants, will keep your cardiologist and oncologist at bay. Most of our people don’t know what Resveratrol is.
This chemical is now being recognised as an essential means of maintaining sound physical health and cannot be overlooked. It is found in the skin and the seeds of grapes, other plants and later found in knot weed in Japan. It is also found normally in peanuts and peanut butter.
It belongs to the category of polyphenol compounds, considered as antioxidants and a natural plant antibiotic created in some plants as a defense against bacteria, fungi, and other germs.
How does it influence your heart?
Resveratrol thins the blood and helps to improve the ability to increase the overall blood flow to the heart and the rest of the body. Thus, it facilitates to retard blockages in the coronary arteries and may prevent build up of plaques and lowering the risk of having a heart attack.
Improves life span
There are encouraging reports that this chemical can increase the lifespan of humans, attaining a longer and more enriching life.
Resveratrol fights cancer
Studies on rats and mice have shown that Resveratrol has had dramatic results in lowering colon cancer and melanoma and now research is being done to see whether this compound will be beneficial on colon cancer and melanoma in humans.
Resveratrol benefits include:
• Boosting of the immune system
• Improved weight loss
• Slowing down the aging process and encouraging longevity
• Reduced growth of cancer cells
• Reduced risks of heart disease
• Added benefits to general health and energy
Resveratrol is also manufactured in a cream form, which benefits against skin cancer when applied; now available in the United States. The cream also has an effect on skin infections.
When taken orally, as now it is available in capsule form, the benefits include reducing plaque formation around brain and heart arteries. It helps to reduce plaque formations in the brain of those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
In diabetics, Resveratrol has reduced blood sugar levels and boosts the metabolism as coconuts do and also has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body like omega-3 fish oils.
The bad news is that the amount of Resveratrol found in one glass of red wine is insufficient to benefit the body. So one may need to depend on taking additional supplements available in capsule form, daily.
Two studies were published in the July issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and the scientists at the University Of Ulm, Germany investing the biological behaviour of Resveratrol in human fat cell biology found that it was a potent biological agent that may offer protection against heart disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes and neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The scientists also found that Resveratrol might decrease obesity by preventing immature fat cells from fully maturing and also help activate sirtum1 (Sirt 1), a protein that protects the heart from inflammation. They also found that Resveratrol stimulated glucose uptake into human fat cells and blocked molecules from converting into fat.
Resveratrol in red wine
Researchers from Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, found that red wine enhanced the health of the cells in blood vessels. The research team studied 15 healthy adults with a mean age of 29 years who agreed to consume 250ml (8.5 ounces or two servings) of red wine everyday for three consecutive weeks. The participants provided blood samples at the beginning and end of the three-week study period so that researchers could evaluate blood vessel function.
The researchers write that “daily red wine consumption for 21 consecutive days significantly enhanced vascular endothelial function,” which means it improved the health of the cells lining the blood vessels, which then improves blood flow and heart health. Drinking red wine every day also helped reduce cell death or what is known as apoptosis.
It is observed that the incidence of heart disease among people that consume large amounts of red wine and moderate amounts of red wine provides cardiovascular protection, but the mechanism that underlie this protection are not very clear.
The French Paradox was a term coined by Serge Renaud. His findings on the effects of red wine consumption were published in Epidemiology in March of 1998. The French people have a diet high in saturated fats, which means that they eat a lot of fatty meats and cheeses. However, they have a lower incidence of heart disease. Could there be a correlation between drinking wine with their meals and the lower incidence of heart disease? Researchers believe that the red wine counteracts the negative effects of fat absorption during the digestive process.
It is observed that red wine increases nitric oxide bio-availability and the inner lining of blood vessels rely on nitric oxide to signal to the vessel tissue to relax and expand, to increase the blood flow within the arteries. Flushing in the face and sweating after a few glasses of red wine may be due to the dilatation effect of nitric acid activation.
In summary, Resveratrol is a compound mainly found in red wine, benefits humans by fighting against cancer cells, improves heart functions, increases life span and longevity and energy levels, fights aging and beneficial in Alzheimer’s disease, reduces obesity and many more benefits yet to be discovered.
Enjoy your glass of red wine daily. Remember, ‘everything in moderation’. This is especially true when it comes to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In many cultures, drinking wine with meals or with appetizers at social functions is normal and healthy. However, when a person drinks more than one drink per hour, their body cannot process the alcohol effectively, which in turn leads to inebriation.
According to Yale-New Haven Hospital, men should drink two, four-ounce servings of red wine. Women should drink one four-ounce serving of red wine per day. Doctors agree people shouldn’t start drinking alcoholic beverages just for these benefits, if they don’t already do so.
In any case, red wine is out of the reach of most people in Sri Lanka, as it is so expensive and it is unfortunate that they need to indulge in cheaper, unhealthy alcoholic beverages.
Author’s advice: Drink a glass of red wine daily
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