courtesy of nutritionexpress.com

UPDATE: Just published JAMA report by Semba followed an elderly group aged >65yrs of men and women free-living in Italy’s Tuscany chianti region (no worries on the limitations of good vino there!) from 1998-2009. The study examined the resveratrol levels achieved  through the diet (via wine consumption) in urinary metabolites – unique biological markers of the target compound from metabolism- associated with causes of mortality (incidence of cancer or cardiovascular disease) and its corresponding inflammatory response in the immune system. Results show no indication of levels in resveratrol from the diet and predictive inflammatory markers , cancer or cardiovascular disease. The resveratrol levels cannot be achieved through a Western diet compared to studies conducted in animals* with high doses of resveratrol that did show a positive correlation. The mechanism of resveratrol in the cell activates an enzyme that turns “on” a longevity gene (1) therefore may be beneficial to a long and healthy life.

*note: the animal studies conducted ingest 100-1000x more resveratrol compared to an average human diet.

courtesy of singularityhub.com

Resveratrol is the most studied polyphenol and popularly associated with red wine. It is considered to contain anti-oxidant properties and have positive effects in cancer research, cardiovascular disease, and decreased mortality. More information on red wine, antioxidants and heart disease from the Mayo Clinic.

This may be a point for beer consumption. To read more about the nutrient value of beer read my post “I think, therefore I drink” compared to red wine.

References:

1. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7117/full/nature05354.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/05/13/311904587/resveratrol-may-not-be-the-elixir-in-red-wine-and-chocolate

© Charlene C Ho and its a NUTTY, NUTTYgrrl world…blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Charlene C Ho and its a NUTTY, NUTTYgrrl world…blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.