The Fountain of Youth Spews Red Wine

Resveratrol, an ingredient of some red wines, could be the secret to prolonging life and cutting back degenerative diseases, such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Resveratrol has been shown in studies to switch on the human body’s biological fertility drive to cell-and-tissue maintenance mode. Cell-and-tissue maintenance mode is like putting your computer on stand-by: Your body uses less power but maintains the same amount of energy and function. In this mode, your body is less susceptible to degenerative diseases that can accompany aging.

In another amazing feat, when resveratrol was administered to lazy mice, it increased their agility. The ingredient helped them run twice as fast on a treadmill before tiring out. However, the mice were given the resveratrol human equivalent of 100 glasses of red wine a day. New studies show that much less resveratrol, about four, five-ounce glasses, might have the same age-reversing effects for humans.

Pills containing resveratrol and other natural ingredients, such as the Chinese herb giant knotweed, are in the works. Researchers are extremely skeptical of these pills’ powers, as they need much more further testing and have not been approved by the FDA. Studies of resveratrol’s effects on rhesus monkeys are underway now but will take a while to show results because the average lifespan of a rhesus monkey is 40 years.

Do you think resveratrol is the fountain of youth? Will you drink more red wine now or will you wait to try resveratrol pills? [The New York Times]