Why resveratrol is the main source of red wine health benefits

Resveratrol is a polyphenol type flavonoid currently exciting great interest as a potential boon to health.  Like other such compounds, it is a very useful antioxidant in its own right, but it has attracted particular attention as a potential solution to the so-called “French Paradox” -  that is the relatively low rates of cardiovascular disease enjoyed in France despite a national diet traditionally rich in cholesterol and saturated fat.  The French, of course, are also known as high per capita consumers of alcohol, particularly in the form of red wine.

Recent research appears to have established that the consumption of alcohol in moderation offers significant protection for the cardiovascular system, and may even reduce the incidence of related diseases by as much as 30%.  And although conventional medical opinion is characteristically cautious, there is also some good evidence that the resveratrol which is almost unique to red wine may provide health benefits which go far beyond those which can be explained by the effects of the alcohol alone.

The role of fat-soluble antioxidants in protecting the circulatory system from damaging free radical attack is already well understood, and the resveratrol and other polyphenols contained in red wine are therefore likely to be highly beneficial for this reason alone.  Laboratory tests, moreover, have shown resveratrol to have significant anti-coagulant and anti-inflammatory effects.

But that’s not all.  It’s known that some potentially harmful compounds in the body do not become carcinogenic unless and until they are metabolised by particular enzymes.  Research suggests that resveratrol may help inhibit the activity of these enzymes, and it therefore seems possible that the compound may have some protective effect against certain cancers.   It’s only fair to acknowledge, however, that orthodox scientific opinion quite rightly still insists that more large scale trials are required outside the laboratory before any protective effects of resveratrol against cancer can be definitely asserted.

But the anti-inflammatory properties of resveratrol may also have a significant protective effect in the battle against atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), a significant precursor of serious cardiovascular disease; and like other antioxidants, resveratrol is believed to help prevent the formation of the blood clots which if they obstruct a coronary or cerebral artery may lead to a heart attack or stroke, still two of the leading causes of premature death or disability in the West.

And amazingly enough it appears that resveratrol may also have a more direct effect in terms of increasing longevity.  A good deal of research has shown that reduced calorie intake may increase animal lifespans, including those of certain mammalian species, apparently by increasing the activity of specific enzymes.  Resveratrol has also been shown to stimulate these enzymes and to enhance the life spans of worms and fruit flies.

The Safe Way To Get Your Red Wine Health Benefits

To maximise your intake of resveratrol from wine you need to know that it’s confined almost entirely to the skins of red or black grapes, and is consequently found in significant quantities only in those wines produced by an initial fermentation on the pulp of these skins.  Naturally the longer the pulp fermentation is allowed to continue the more colour and resveratrol is leached from the skins.  So the colour of the finished wine is a handy guide; generally the richer and darker the colour the more resveratrol will be found.  Rose types and light reds may contain some, but white wines produced by a juice fermentation alone will provide little if any.

Usually it is the red wines produced in the sunnier latitudes of the Mediterranean, and the New World which will be richest in resveratrol, and dark red wines from these regions may provide as much as 2 mg in a small 5 oz glass.  But unfortunately, these wines also tend to be the strongest in alcohol, as well as so-called “congeners”, the mildly toxic compounds which can cause nasty hangovers.

Fortunately supplements of resveratrol are now readily available, principally in the form of red wine or red grape extracts, which will also contain other antioxidant polyphenols.  Recommended doses will typically provide between 10 and 50 mg of resveratrol, which it would be hazardous to health to attempt to achieve through the consumption of red wine alone.

There are of course many other reasons than resveratrol to drink red wine, not least the relaxation and sheer pleasure to be derived.  So continue to enjoy the odd glass, by all means, but why not also allow extracted resveratrol to supply you with a vastly more concentrated and much safer source of red wine health benefits.

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