Substance in Red Wine Could Extend Life, Study Says

NY Times ^ | November 1, 2006 | NICHOLAS WADE

[neverdem]

Can you have your cake and eat it? Is there a free lunch after all, red wine included? Researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Aging report that a natural substance found in red wine, known as resveratrol, offsets the bad effects of a high-calorie diet in mice and significantly extends their lifespan.

Their report, published electronically today in Nature, implies that very large daily doses of resveratrol could offset the unhealthy, high-calorie diet thought to underlie the rising toll of obesity in the United States and elsewhere, should people respond to the drug as mice do.

Resveratrol is found in the skin of grapes and in red wine and is conjectured to be a partial explanation for the French paradox, the puzzling fact that people in France to enjoy a high-fat diet yet suffer less heart disease than Americans.

The researchers fed one group of mice a diet in which 60 percent of calories came from fat. The diet started when the mice, all males, were 1 year old, which is middle-aged in mouse terms. As expected, the mice soon developed signs of impending diabetes, with grossly enlarged livers, and started to die much sooner than mice fed a standard diet.

Another group of mice was fed the identical high-fat diet but with a large daily dose of resveratrol. The resveratrol did not stop them from putting on weight and growing as tubby as the other fat-eating mice. But it averted the high levels of glucose and insulin in the bloodstream, which are warning signs of diabetes, and it kept the mice's livers at normal size.

Even more strikingly, the substance sharply extended the mice's lifetimes. Those fed resveratrol along with the high-fat diet died many months later than the mice on high fat alone,...

[rmlew]

Thanks.
Now I have another reason to stay away from stinky cheeses.

[From many - one.]

Where do you get it? I take meds that prohibit the use of alcohol.

[mcshot]

Thanks for the living proof. :-)

[oblomov]

Sonmeone emailed me with a similar question, and also asked where he could get more information. Here was my reply:

Hello,

First, let me point out that I only take a small dose daily compared to the researcher (Dr. Sinclair, who still claimed to take something on the order of 5mg/kg body weight, which would be 375 mg daily for a 75kg person. That would be quite expensive based on the resveratrol prices I have been able to find.) Functional food-based nutrients are regarded as having the best bioavailability, and if you look at the articles below, you'll see that the amount found in ordinary servings of food (like wine and peanut butter) is quite low. But I expect food-based resveratrol to be marketed very soon. The experts seem to favor resveratrol that is derived from grapeskin extract (which has the highest concentration of any food). Generally the LEF and Jarrow products are quite good in terms of bioavailability.

There is a lot of good information on resveratrol (and other antioxidants) here:

http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=885&query=Resveratrol&hiword=RESVERATROLA%20RESVERATROLS%20Resveratrol%20

LEF is a commercial site, and you can buy the products there- the dosage per pill for their product is 20 mg (I take this one).

I have also taken the Jarrow resveratrol:
http://www.vitacost.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Resveratrol-Synergy

This article is a good basic resource on gene silencing (includes refs to resveratrol):
http://www.benbest.com/lifeext/aging.html#silencing

Linus Pauling Institute on resveratrol:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/resveratrol/

PDR:
http://pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/res_0224.shtml

A somewhat skeptical view:
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/resveratrol.html

Note: I'm not a doctor-just an interested layman. I don't think that researchers yet understand potential interactions with certain health conditions, medicines, etc. so it would probably be smart to discuss with your doctor.

My best,
oblomov

[From many - one.]

Many thanks. There was also a recent report that resveratrol helped prevent Alzheimer's:

Compound in Red Wine May Fight Alzheimer's
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/114/111394.htm?printing=true

[MarMema]

ping

[Texas_shutterbug]

So...how much of a drunk do I have to be to have an extended life? :)

[RightWhale]

Paul Harvey says yes.

[NautiNurse]

Belated--yet better late than never. Please alert either quantim or myself to get the wine ping list going for a thread.

Click to be +/- on this low volume wine ping list.

Oenology news ping.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

When they bottle a Grand Resveratrol let me know and I'll add a few to my cellar.

{{rimshot}}

[seekthetruth]

Try "Ocean Spray" concord grape/cranberry juice. It contains no sugar and is sweetened with pear juice. It is great!:)

[Sacajaweau]

I saw the French test results years ago. I've been drinking 100% grape juice based on that idea.

I noticed that on directions for a cholesterol home test that it said no citrus drinks allowed for say 24 or 48??? hours before the test.

Part of the French tests also indicated that cheeses passed through the system with the fats still intact.

[roaddog727]

Uncork me another bottle of Carmenere!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[RoadTest]

Thank you!

[RoadTest]

Thanks

[tubebender]

Thanks for da ping. Would you please ask all those FReepers adverse to red wine to send me their allotment so I may continue my 55 year research project...

[TX Bluebonnet]

bookmark for later

[cornelis]

Just eat grapes. Alchohol affects every organ of your body.

[RoadTest]

"Just eat grapes. Alchohol affects every organ of your body.'

You're right. And since I was filled with The Spirit I don't need those other spirits any more.

[NittanyLion]

The resveratrol in food such as wine is very small- on the order of 100 micrograms per liter. To get a therapeutic effect, you would likely need to take much more (via commercial tablets or capsules), just like the experimental mice (25 mg/kg body weight) and the researcher in the story (5mg/kg). I take much less myself - 20 mg/day at 70 kg.

According to your numbers, I need to drink 5 liters of wine per day. A lot of people aren't so concerned about their health and wouldn't dedicate themselves to such a task, but luckily I'm very persistent...