Basic Pursuits

A new study published today suggests that the phytochemical resveratrol found in red wine "mimics calorie restriction and retards aging parameters in mice."

Calorie restriction, that is reducing calories by as much as 40 percent of what an organism would eat on its own, is the only proven means of extending lifespan. It has been proven to work in many, many organisms from mice to worms to monkeys. Because controlling the variables in human experiments would be impossible, there have not been enough observations to prove that calorie restriction would extend the lifespan of humans. But it's a pretty good bet that it would.

That's why these researchers set the effects of calorie restriction as the gold standard to measure the benefits of resveratrol.

The researchers observed that resveratrol had the same beneficial effects on anti-aging gene expression as calorie restriction, even in reasonable amounts.

This perhaps explains the French paradox, whereby the French suffer less from heart and circulation problems even though their diet is full of saturated fat.

I say, great! Pass the wine. But before I start dosing myself with resveratrol supplements, I'd like the answer to the following question:

If resveratrol can extend lifespan, why don't the French live a lot longer than people in the rest of the world?

True. The French are up there, outliving Americans for example by about two and a half years. But there is not a 10 or 20 year gap. If the effect on mice as suggested by the study were the same on humans, it would show up in mortality tables, and it clearly does not.

Red wine stops effects of high-fat diet

Scientists discover the secret behind red wine's anti-ageing properties

A Low Dose of Dietary Resveratrol Partially Mimics Caloric Restriction and Retards Aging Parameters in Mice

 Photo by Laurie