Red Wine May Offset Effects Of High Calorie Diet

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Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Diabetes
Article Date: 01 Nov 2006 - 10:00 PDT

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Red wine and red grapes contain a chemical, called resveratrol, that can offset some of the effects of gluttony, say researchers from the National Institute on Aging, Harvard Medical School, USA. Resveratrol does not seem to be able to get rid of the obesity, but it can lower glucose levels, help your liver and improve your heart.

You can read about this study in the journal Nature.

Studies had already indicated that resveratrol slows down the aging process in some non-mammalian animals. In this study, the scientists wanted to see what the effects of resveratrol might be on mammals.

They had lab rats which were fed 60% calories coming from fat. The rats were obese, had insulin resistance and cardiovascular diseases. The rats were divided into two groups. One group continued to eat 60% of calories from fat, while the other group had the same diet, but with resveratrol added to it.

The rats receiving resveratrol had lower glucose levels, their hearts became healthier, as did their liver tissue. The scientists also noticed that the rats that consumed resveratrol were more nimble on their feet, compared to the other group.

Even though the resveratrol-fed mice did not lose any weight, their health became as good as that of a mouse on a normal diet. Although the non-resveratrol fed mice continued to have a short lifespan, the resveratrol-fed mice lived as long as mice on a normal diet.

The scientists believe resveratrol may activate SIRT1, a gene associated with longevity.

If what happened to the mice could happen to humans, resveratrol could help prevent obese people from developing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, cancer and some other illnesses, say the researchers.

Comment by Editor of Medical News Today

Obesity is something people try to avoid for two reasons. Vanity, and/or health. If we find an ingredient that takes away the health risk, I wonder what most of us would eventually look like.

Would we continue the vanity drive, and then stuff ourselves after committing to a lifetime partner (try to look good only while you are single)?

How many of us would start feasting regularly as soon as the health risk was gone? I suspect I would - that is why I go to the gym everyday; so that I can burn lots of calories and allow myself a few more treats. Would I stop going to the gym? I really don't know.

Would I eat more, or chose that steaming chocolate pudding with lashes of cream, rather than the fruit salad? I think I probably would.

"Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet"
Joseph A. Baur, Kevin J. Pearson, Nathan L. Price, Hamish A. Jamieson, Carles Lerin8, Avash Kalra, Vinayakumar V. Prabhu, Joanne S. Allard, Guillermo Lopez-Lluch9, Kaitlyn Lewis, Paul J. Pistell, Suresh Poosala, Kevin G. Becker, Olivier Boss, Dana Gwinn, Mingyi Wang, Sharan Ramaswamy, Kenneth W. Fishbein, Richard G. Spencer, Edward G. Lakatta, David Le Couteur, Reuben J. Shaw, Placido Navas, Pere Puigserver, Donald K. Ingram, Rafael de Cabo and David A. Sinclair
Nature doi:10.1038/nature05354
Click here to view abstract online

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
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