Life-Extending Chemical Is Found in Certain Red Wines

New York Times ^ | NICHOLAS WADE

[July 4th]

resveratrol is unstable on exposure to the air and "goes off within a day of popping the cork"

Oh well. Guess I have to drink the whole bottle at once.

[nickcarraway]

There have been other studies, but the bottom line is that they don't completely know the health benefits of grape juice vs. red wine. There definitely are health benefits of grape juice, but at this time, they have found certain benefits of wine are greater. But that isn't to say, they might not learn more. For an alcoholic, grape juice would certainly be a better bet. The health benefits reverse when you consume too much wine. The standard amount is one glass for women, and two glasses for men.

[Aracelis]

Too bad I'm allergic to the sulfites...but perhaps the rest of you would benefit...

[PatrickHenry]

I've never liked wine. I'm hoping they find some longevity benefit in single-malt Scotch. What's the story on how long they live in Scotland?

[Aracelis]

Life expectancy in Scotland is on the increase, but the connection between this and consumption of Scotch is dubious...sorry.

[najida]

I love a glass of red wine at night. This is gonna be so easy to do.

[Bon mots]

Actually, you can probably just eat the grapes as well!

Cold climate grapes include the "Concord", "Delaware", and "Catawba", which are not popular for wine production since the wine produced from such grapes is often described as "Foxey" - a hard to describe taste characteristic of these particular strains of grape. This is the reason why New York State wines never really took off.

So Concord grapes are used to make jelly, jam, and grape juice, but not very much wine.

[Bon mots]

Perhaps you are thinking of the Italian village where they have identified an extremely rare genetic mutation which makes many of the people immune to the effects of cholesterol. A handful of people carry this gene and it is being studied.

A geneticist actually traced the family tree back to a particular great grandparent and they have identified all of the people who now have the gift of being able to eat pure cholesterol on a daily basis without accumulating any arterial plaque. So they can have a cholesterol of say 800 and live to be 100! What a gift!

[Flying Circus]

Maybe, but I like drinking wine much better than eating grapes... and the wine keeps better between trips to the store too. Concord grapes just taste nasty fermented or unfermented. That is why I don't like most grape jelly or grape juice.

[Quilla]

According to the Oxford Companion to Wine, Pinot Noir tends to have high levels of the chemical, while Cabernet Sauvignon has lower levels. "Wines produced in cooler regions or areas with greater disease pressure, such as Burgundy and New York, often have more resveratrol," the book says, whereas wines from drier climates like California or Australia have less.

I'm not a big fan of Pinot Noir. Since the amount of resveratrol in my preferred California Merlot or Australain Shiraz is considerably lower, one must drink a little more to compensate. Sounds like a plan to me.

[nickcarraway]

What's the story on how long they live in Scotland?

You don't want to know. maybe it's the haggis.

[Aric2000]

I don't know about Scotland, but a lady I knew in Kentucky while I was in the Army, she was a friend of mines Great, Great, Grandmother, was 99 years old. Lived by herself in the hills on 10 acres.

Every morning she would get up, have a shot of Jack Daniels, Smoke a cigar, then have bacon and eggs, for lunch, a shot of Jack Daniels and smoke a cigar, then eat ham, or whatever meat she fancied. Then, for dinner, she would have a shot of Jack Daniels, smoke a cigar, then eat a HUGE dinner, again, WHATEVER caught her fancy. Then, just before bed, around 10:30 or so, she would have a shot of Jack Daniels, smoke a cigar, then have some fun dessert. Then get up at 5AM and do it all over again.

The woman was a fricking dynamo, chopping wood, mowing her lawn, etc. She had outlived ALL of her children, 5 husbands, 1/2 of her grandchildren, and about a 1/4 of her great grandchildren. It was incredible, and when I left, after 2 years, she had just turned 100, GREAT party by the way, she was alive and kicking and doing her thing.

Doubt she is still alive, it's been 12 years, but you never know.