Red Wine and Anti Aging

Why Red Wine is Anti Aging

Red wine has been getting a lot of good press for its anti-aging properties. Studies in rats have shown that resveretrol, a substance found in red wine, has strong anti-aging effects. Researchers are beginning to understand why red wine seems to slow aging, especially the aging of the heart.

Why Red Wine Could Keep You Young

In the body, red wine seems to work in a way similar to calorie restriction. When primates and rodents are given a diet which is at 30% less in daily calories, they live longer and are resistant to many age-related problems (calorie restriction is not yet proven in humans).

Not only do the calorie restricted animals live longer, the life span of the animals (the actual span for the species) is increased by 30%. In other words, the oldest monkeys and rats never had a calorie restricted diet. The anti-aging properties of red wine may work through the same mechanism as calorie restriction.

Mice and Red Wine

If I were a mouse, there are a lot of laboratory studies I would want to avoid –- but a study on red wine and anti-aging sounds pretty good. Middle-aged mice were given low doses of resvertrol (lower than in prior studies) and still showed solid anti aging benefits. What happens is that both calorie restriction and resveratrol supplementation change the activity of certain genes in your body. These changes result in less age-related problems and a reduction in tissue changes due to aging. The effect was greatest in slowing heart aging. Specifically, situins (a type of enzyme works to make these favorable changes in genes) seems to be stimulated by resveratrol.

How Much Red Wine Should I Drink?

The current laboratory dose of research will use in most studies to extend the life of lab rats is the equivalent of 100 bottles of red wine a day for humans. Some studies show that just 30 bottles of wine a day may have benefits. That still is far too high to be of practical use so researchers are hard at work to create a drug to simulate the effects of resveratrol. GlaxoSmithKlein purchased a startup biotech called Sirtris for $720 million in 2008 – there is big money in those grapes.

Read More

• More About Red Wine
• Calorie Restriction 101
• The Longevity Diet (book on calorie restriction)

_Source(s):

Jamie L. Barger, et al. A Low Dose of Dietary Resveratrol Partially Mimics Caloric Restriction and Retards Aging Parameters in Mice. PLoS ONE. 2008; 3(6): e2264.