Red wine for health?

You may have heard that drinking red wine will increase your lifespan or is in some way good for your health. Many articles have come out suggesting this practice because red wine contains resveratrol, and resveratrol has been shown to increase lifespan in mice.  On the surface this may seem a logical conclusion, however, there’s a problem with that logical leap of faith:  In the lifespan study frequently quoted, mice were given the human equivalent of around 20 mg of resveratrol daily.  A glass of red wine contains about 0.5 mg of resveratrol.  So in order to see the same lifespan-increasing effects, how much red wine would a human need to drink daily?

Over 40 glasses of red wine…. Every single day!

Obviously, this volume of alcohol would create health problems that would far surpass any life-extending effects of the resveratrol.   And new research suggests that even drinking just 1-2 glasses of red wine every day might  be detrimental to one’s health – the opposite effect we’d hope to achieve from drinking red wine to get more resveratrol.

So how can we increase our level of resveratrol without harming our health?   Many plants contain resveratrol.  Grapes for example.  (where do you think the resveratrol in the wine comes from?)  But certain plants that have “medicinal  herb” status  have substantial amounts of resveratrol.  A traditional Chinese herb, He Shou Wu, which is legendary for promoting long life, has now been found to contain significantly high amounts of resveratrol.  There are many other plants / herbs that contain resveratrol and other life enhancing compounds.  Although  these substances had not been identified in the ancient world, the effects of the plants that contained them  were well documented for their health promoting properties. 

So next time you have a glass of red wine, don’t concern yourself with how healthy it is, just enjoy the wine.  But if you want to benefit from the health enhancing effects of phyto-medicines, come talk to us about how Chinese herbal  tonics can make a difference in your well-being and longevity.