Wine & Health, dec06/jan07

Overweight? Drink more red!

Score another hit for resveratrol, that compound in red wine that is credited for everything from healthier hearts to longer life. Now, it seems, resveratrol may be able to protect you from that bacon double cheeseburger you wolfed down at lunch.

A recent study published in the journal Nature indicated that resveratrol protected overweight mice from the ill effects of obesity, prompting much speculation about whether it might have the same effects on humans. Specifically, researchers found that the compound triggered a set of genes that essentially neutralized the effects of a poor diet.

Of course, the researchers also strongly encouraged people from embracing gluttony combined with excessive amounts of red wine (scientists are no fun…). And they did point out that the mice were given enough resveratrol to equal about 100 bottles of red wine per day (even we think that's a lot of wine in one 24-hour period…).

For more (serious) information on the subject, refer to the original findings published in Nature.