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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Anti-aging benefits found in red wine pill

You can eat fat and live as long as the French

By: W. Gifford-Jones MD.

Posted: 02/20/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

How do the French differ from North Americans? They eat fat-rich, calorie-packed baked goodies that are not heart healthy. Yet they're less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than North Americans. It's called "The French Paradox," believed to be linked to resveratrol, a substance found in red wine. Now, a new study shows that a red wine pill provides more health benefits than drinking hundreds of glasses of the "sweet nectar of the gods."

Dr. David Sinclair at the Harvard Medical School has developed a concentrated form of resveratrol. He's tested the effects on mice and believes it will help to offset the effect of high-fat diets, decrease the chance of diabetes and slow down aging in humans.

Middle-aged mice were fed a diet in which 60 percent of calories came from fat. They developed signs of diabetes and died much sooner than mice fed on a regular diet.

Another group of middle-aged mice were fed the same diet along with resveratrol. This prevented the onset of diabetes and even though obese, they lived as long as those fed a regular diet. It showed mice could be gluttons at mealtime without paying the price later on.

Dr. Johan Auwerx at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Illkirch, France, showed that an ordinary mouse could run one kilometre on a treadmill. But mice given resveratrol ran twice as far and had a slower heart rate, similar to trained athletes. As Dr. Auwerx remarked, "Resveratrol makes you look like a trained athlete without the training."

Auwerx believes resveratrol generates energy in the body's cells thereby burning more fat and avoiding weight gain. Examination of the muscle fibres of the mice revealed they had been remodeled by resveratrol into a type prevalent in trained human athletes.

Other scientists believe that enzymes, such as sirtuin, keep the body healthful in youth, but become less powerful with age. They claim that resveratrol restores the activity of these enzymes.

At this point I'm ready to pour myself a glass or two of Cabernet Sauvignon. But according to Dr. Sinclair I would have to drink 1,500 bottles of red wine daily to get the same amount of resveratrol that was given to mice. The alternative is the red wine pill.

Sinclair's research is driven by his own desire to slow down aging. As he told me, "This is the Holy Grail of aging research." And he says he, his wife, parents and half of his research staff take the red wine pill.

So what is the choice? If you're a moderate drinker you can continue to enjoy a frequent glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. Many studies show you will live longer. But Dr.Sinclair stresses his research is not about red wine, which provides miniscule amounts of resveratrol. Rather, it's about getting a concentrated dose of resveratrol in the red wine pill.

For years doctors have feared promoting the health benefits of wine because of social problems associated with excessive use of alcohol. Now the red wine pill allows teetotallers the health benefits of wine without the alcohol or calories.

Since 50 percent of patients with diabetes die from heart attack, the red wine pill will hopefully help decrease this complication in years ahead. And if Dr. Auwex's and Dr. Sinclair's research is right, the red wine pill should help to decrease the chance of cancer and Alzheimer's disease and give energy to those who are tired all the time.

Several red wine pills are available, but studies show some brands provide only small amounts of resveratrol. I've relied on the work of seven international nutritionists and their book The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. They analyzed and rated 500 vitamin products. No company hit the perfect score 100. One company, Vitamin Research Products, reached 93.1. Their product, Extension Resveratrol, also contains red wine polyphenols that act synergistically with resveratrol and quercetin to prolong the action of resveratrol in the body.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 20, 2009 A17

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