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Home » Health Articles » How Resveratrol Packs Red Wine With Health

How Resveratrol Packs Red Wine With Health

Resveratrol has recently attracted great interest in connection with the the so-called "French Paradox" which has long puzzled medical science. As a polyphenol type flavonoid it is in any case a very useful anti-oxidant, but many now believe it also to be the explanation of 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%. There is good evidence, however, that the resveratrol which is almost unique to red wine may provide benefits which go far beyond those which can be explained by the effects of the alcohol alone

This is not surprising in so far as fat-soluble anti-oxidants are known to be important protectors of the circulatory system against damaging attack from free radicals, and the resveratrol and other polyphenols found in red wine are likely to be highly beneficial in this context. Laboratory research, moreover, has revealed significant anti-inflammatory and blood anti-coagulant effects arising from the action of resveratrol.

But there's still more to resveratrol than this. It's known that some potentially harmful compounds in the body do not become carcinogenic unless and until they are metabolised by particular enzymes. Resveratrol has been shown in some laboratory research to help inhibit the activity of these enzymes and it seems possible that resveratrol may therefore have some protective effect against certain cancers.

Resveratrol has also been shown in the laboratory to slow the proliferation of DNA damaged cells, which have the potential to become cancerous, and to allow time for the repair or removal of DNA damaged cells before rapid and harmful proliferation can occur. Invasive cancer tumours depend on specialised enzymes to allow them to take over healthy tissue and also need to establish their own blood supply if they are to develop. Resveratrol has been found in the laboratory to have inhibiting effects on both these processes, perhaps principally because of its anti-inflammatory qualities.

Orthodox opinion, however, currently maintains that more large scale trials are required outside the laboratory before any protective effects of resveratrol against cancer can be definitively established.

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. Resveratrol has also been shown to play an important role in preventing the formation of the blood clots which if they obstruct a coronary or cerebral artery may lead to a heart attack or stroke, two of the leading causes of premature death or disability in the affluent Western world.

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 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. It is not known whether these findings would be replicated in higher life forms, humans included, but there seems no logical reason why they should not.

To obtain a significant intake of this potentially highly beneficial compound from wine you need to concentrate on red wine, because only this is produced by a pulp fermentation including the red or black grape skins where most of the resveratrol is found. As a rule of thumb, the richer and darker the colour of the wine, the longer the pulp fermentation will have lasted, and the more resveratrol and other polyphenols the wine will contain. Generally speaking it is those produced in the sunnier latitudes which will have the highest concentration.

No toxicity issues have been reported from the intake of resveratrol, as such, although problems of course may arise if red wine is used to excess to achieve a desired high intake. Supplements of resveratrol providing up to 50 mg are now readily available, however; whilst moderate consumption of alcohol is now generally recognised as potential boon to health, and to be particularly protective of the cardiovascular system. So there seems to be every reason to continue to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine of an evening. And your enjoyment can only be increased by the awareness that the resveratrol it contains may well be doing your health a power of good.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Why Small Business Must Turn to PR

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Net word count is 670 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Why Small Business Must Turn to PR

If small business had no important outside audiences, it wouldn't exist.

But since they do have external "publics," it's doubly unfortunate when those same small business owners seem unconcerned about the very outside folks whose behaviors can place a choke-hold on their business!

And worse, are so casual about public relations, the best way to move those behaviors in their direction.

Is that you? What's the problem? Can you think of any other way to marshall those groups of people you need so badly if your business is to succeed?

Face it. You must turn to public relations if you are really serious about getting those important outside people to support what you are trying to do.

And the best part is, there's no mystery about how to do it!

Start today by listing your important outside audiences in priority order. No doubt, customers and prospects will place #1 and #2. But think carefully about your local and trade media as well as community residents and leaders, suppliers and the like. The test for adding an external audience to your worry list is this: if left unattended, could its perceptions and behaviors hurt your business?

Since there is no other affordable way to find out how each of your target audiences perceive your business, products, services and operations, you must take the time to do it yourself along with your colleagues. Interact with members of that key target audience and probe their perceptions with plenty of questions. Watch for misconceptions, inaccuracies and rumors that need to be corrected. Stay alert to negativity of any kind.

This will let you decide how much you will try to alter perceptions among each audience. It also becomes the behavior modification goal against which you will measure your progress.

Now it's message time. What will you say to members of your target audience to alter that negative perception that surfaced during your conversations with them? Your message must be persuasive, so stick with the facts and present them clearly. By identifying honestly what is really at issue at the moment, you impart a sense of credibility to your comments, and their timeliness adds a compelling dimension to your message.

What's the best way to get that message to the eyes and ears of members of your target audience?

Here, you have an embarrassment of riches with dozens of communications tactics including news announcements, op-eds, letters-to-the-editor, speeches, community briefings, broadcast and newspaper interviews and many, many others.

Progress can best be tracked by interacting all over again with members of the target audience. While you'll ask questions similar to those you asked in your earlier monitoring sessions, this time you're looking for signs that your message got through. In other words, signs that your message succeeded in altering any negative perceptions of your business.

You should also monitor print and broadcast media, key customers and prospects for similar indications of success.

Should progress not be fast enough for you, you'll want to consider increasing the number of communications tactics you employ as well as the frequency of their use. Your message should also be re-evaluated for its factual basis and clarity.

Gradually, your monitoring will playback perception changes among that target audience, and that means the behaviors you seek will not be far behind.

It is this kind of success that tells us very clearly why small business must turn to PR if it is to realize its potential.

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