Wine Loft News Brief Week of July 7th

Have you heard of resveratrol? It's gotten quite a bit of hype in the wine world recently and continues to be the hot topic among health experts. In the most recent study released on July 3rd, researches noted the red wine laden chemical helps keep the bones, eyes, kidneys, heart, and other muscles in MICE healthier as they grow older, but did not increase the overall lifespan of the little rodent! The study released goes on to say that the chemical provides cardiovascular benefits, greater motor coordination, reduced cataracts, and even greater bone density and kidney function in the mice.

The research continues and gets complicated from there on with different tests run in different situations where resveratrol is compared to CR (caloric restriction upon which one's diet is reduced by 30 to 40% fewer calories). Over time, a trend emerged: mice on either CR or resveratrol diets tended to remain healthier than mice on standard diets san resveratrol. Furthermore, once the deceased mice were biopsied, the mice taking resveratrol demonstrated multiple health benefits (as mentioned earlier): greater bone density, less vascular and kidney dysfunction and fewer instances of cataracts. On a genetic level, the similarity between those on a CR diet and a resveratrol diet were strikingly similar.

Well, the results of the study cannot be too perfect for wine lovers, warning that resveratrol may have TOXIC effects in higher doses. The lead researcher goes on to say the amounts used in the study are "unobtainable" through one's (human) natural eating and drinking habits. "If the resveratrol doses that we used in mice are translatable to humans, it would have to be with a pill (BUMMER)," he said, adding that "red wine is still a great source of resveratrol and probably one of the most common sources for most people."

I guess that will help keep red wine prices in check! Here's to your health. Have a good week.