Red Wine- Is this the Fountain of Youth?

While everyone has been searching for an anti aging pill or developing a formulation of a cosmetic cream, Lo and Behold, one of the most potent anti aging chemicals has been found in one of men’s favorite beverage. Researchers believe that they may have found the fountain of youth in red wine. For decades it was not understood why individuals who drank red wine regularly showed very beautiful and youthful looking skin. At first, everyone thought that this was simply genes, or perhaps the food or the French Riviera or perhaps the French were simply lucky. Little did anyone suspect that it was the red wine.



A few years ago the ingredients in red wine were analyzed and found to contain a substance called Resveratrol. This agent has been extensively studied in the laboratory and found to be a natural anti oxidant. Other studies have shown that many life forms studied in the laboratory were prolonged when minute amounts of Resveratrol was added as a nutrient.


Resveratrol is commonly found in the skin of red grapes and functions as an anti fungal agent in the vineyards. During the fermentation process, the Resveratrol is preserved and remains functional.


How Resveratrol functions as an antiaging agent is not fully understood but there is strong belief that it limits the calorie intake. It is known that individuals who eat less, usually live long. With Resveratrol life extension has been seen in rodents, monkeys and other primates. When the calorie intake is lessened, the blood sugar and cholesterol levels decline, the blood pressure drops and there is excess mobilization of the fat deposits. And this scenario is evident in the French.


When it comes to humans, the French who drink red wine predominantly live a lot longer than most people around the world. These individuals also have much lesser cardiac disease than their American counterparts. And when the skin of these French individuals is examined, there is very little evidence of aging and wrinkles are non existent.


So should we all drink red wine?

Yes, but even among red wines the concentration of Resveratrol varies. Wines from Canada generally contain more of this ingredient than those bought from California. The reason is thought to be the increased moisture and humidity in the north. The increased humidity allows the fungus to thrive and thus grapes produce more Resveratrol to kill the fungus.


How much red wine to drink to produce healthy aging is not really known. Currently some experts recommend drinking one glass of wine on a daily basis.


So the next time you lift your Pinot Noir to a toast, remember, besides friendship and a good dinner, you are also gaining your youth with a glass of red wine.