Red wine to the rescue?
June 26th, 2009 by Barb
Have you red wine drinkers been feeling neglected by FF40? Well, I’m back with more research indicating that moderate consumption of the grape reduces “all-cause mortality“—i.e., the annual number of deaths in a given age group. On the flip side, though, excessive drinking causes multi-organ damage.
Researchers in Australia conducted a mini-review of recent findings on some of the compounds in red wine. Their review summarizes recent studies on the possible mechanisms of action, potential therapeutic uses and bioavailability of the nonalcoholic compounds found in alcoholic beverages, in particular resveratrol and other polyphenols.
Some of these compounds, especially resveratrol, appear to have health benefits. “The breadth of benefits is remarkable—cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases such as inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more,” one researcher said.
The researchers’ findings, to be published in the September issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, include the following key points:
1) Resveratrol exhibits potential for protecting heart and neurological cells and, conversely, preventing cancer by causing cell death.
This sounds contradictory, but a researcher explains: “The most likely explanation for this, still to be rigorously proved in many organs, is that low concentrations activate survival mechanisms of cells while high concentrations turn on the in-built death signals in these cells.” Low-dose resveratrol produces cellular protection and reduces damage. High-dose resveratrol prevents cancers.
2) Resveratrol may help prevent age-related disorders, such as neuro-degenerative diseases, inflammation, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers theorize that resveratrol turns on the cell’s own survival pathways, preventing damage to individual cells. Additional mechanisms help by, for example, removing very reactive oxidants in the body and improving blood supply to cells.
The researchers stress that more study is needed of the various compounds’ ability to travel to the necessary site in the body. For example, most of the reseveratrol in imbibed red wine does not reach the drinker’s circulation because it is inactivated by the gut or liver. “Interestingly, absorption via the mucous membanes in the mouth can result in up to around 100 times the blood levels, if done slowly rather than simply gulping it down,” a researcher said. “Of course, we don’t know if these things matter yet, but issues like this are real and generally ignored by all.”
In the meantime, though, it seems the common toast “To your health” is more than just wishful thinking. Or, as Carrie Fisher might say, wishful drinking.
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