Is red wine good for you?
The benefits of red wine have been pondered for decades. Observations have been so compelling that a term was coined in 1991 – ‘The French Paradox’. The French Paradox describes the apparent incongruity of the French peoples’ relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease and their diet, which is rich in saturated fats. Along with this observation came speculation that their high consumption of red wine was the cause of their reduced incidence of heart disease.
In fact the notion that red wine consumption somehow lowers the risk of all manner of disease has persisted for over twenty years. The past two years however have seen modern biochemistry finding definitive links between red wine and good health.
Red wine is particularly high in polyphenol antioxidants, but it is the presence of a unique polyphenol named resveratrol that has the greatest effect. There are multiple scientific studies that confirm the effects of resveratrol in preventing DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) damage, repairing DNA and cellular reproduction integrity, protecting against chronic disease, and significantly slowing the ageing process. There are also current clinical trials1underway by the U.S. Government National Institute of Health to establish and demonstrate the effect of resveratrol on Alzheimers, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, cognitive function, metabolic syndrome and obesity.
The main characteristic of resveratrol is an observed ability to protect and repair DNA which results in proper cell reproduction. DNA contained within each human cell is protected by ‘caps’ on the end called telomeres. Through oxidative and other stresses, these telomeres shorten and eventually disappear, rendering chromosones of DNA vulnerable to unravelling. Shortened telomeres have been shown to create cancerous cells2, and increase vascular disease3. Telomere shortening also leads to cell death4 and there is strong evidence that telomere length correlates with mortality5 and Alzheimers disease6.
Relative to other dietary sources, red wine is very rich in resveratrol7. It has an average 5mg/L whereas red grape juice contains 0.5mg/L, and white wine generally contains less than 0.1mg/L. The most concentrated source of resveratrol is the skin and seeds of grapes. White wine is made by separating the skin before juicing, while red wine is pressed with the skin, seeds and stalk present, so it makes sense that red wine is the richest source of resveratrol.Since ageing can be defined simply as the imperfect reproduction of cells due to impaired DNA, Resveratrol acts as a powerful anti-ageing element7 at the chromosonal level by carrying on telomere maintenance8 and DNA synthesis and repair9.
Safe alcohol consumption is approximately 300ml of red wine per day, which only provides 1-2mg of resveratrol – a much lower dose than those used in clinical trials and studies. This leads to an obvious conundrum – how to safely ingest therapeutic levels of resveratrol. Thankfully, many companies now produce resveratrol supplements at high dosages for maximum effect. Metagenics for example have a formula called ‘Resveratrol Healthy Ageing Complex’ that has 300mg of resveratrol in each tablet. 1 tablet would mean the equivalent of drinking sixty litres of red wine!
So is red wine good for you? Absolutely, but it’s not the wine – it’s the resveratrol in the wine. Considering the almost negligible levels present in red wine, the answer is obvious – incorporate a resveratrol supplement into your daily routine and experience good health, lower risk of cancer, alzheimers and coronary heart disease, and regenerative, anti-ageing benefits at the cellular level.
1http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=resveratrol
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3Willeit P, et al. Cellular Aging Reflected by Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Advanced Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010 May 27 [Epub ahead of print]
4Armanios M. Syndromes of telomere shortening. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2009;10:45-61. Review. PubMed PMID: 19405848;
5Cawthon RM, Smith KR, O’Brien E, Sivatchenko A, Kerber RA. Association between telomere length in blood and mortality in people aged 60 years or older. Lancet. 2003 Feb 1;361(9355):393-5.
6Thomas P, O’Callaghan NJ, Fenech M. Telomere length in white blood cells, buccal cells and brain tissue and its variation with ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. Mech Ageing Dev. 2008Apr;129(4):183-90.
7Baur JA, Sinclair DA. Therapeutic potential of resveratrol: the in vivo evidence. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2006 Jun5(6):493-506.
8Cadenas S, Barja G. Resveratrol, melatonin, vitamin E, and PBN protect against renal oxidative damage induced by the kidney carcinogen KBrO3. Free Radic Biol Med. 1999 Jun;26(11-12):1531-7.
9Gatz SA, Wiesmuller L. Take a break—resveratrol in action on DNA. Carcinogenesis. 2008 Feb;29(2):321-32.
