| Resveratrol found in red wine, grape skins and pips, many fruits and vegetables and chocolates, has been acclaimed as a possible anti-ageing compound that has a large number of benefits for heart health and several other physiological characteristics, according to hundreds of studies done on human beings and mice over the last two decades. Scientists at the Copenhagen University have apparently discovered to their surprise that the same Resveratrol may block many of the cardiovascular benefits of exercise including reduced blood pressure and cholesterol for older people.
According to the report in Daily Mail, a study of two months of exercise regiment disclosed that when combined with a course of Resveratrol supplements, most of the positive and well documented effects of exercise vanished. Resveratrol is supposed to improve the cardiac health by mopping up dangerous oxygen molecules known as free radicals which attack cells and tissues and cause ageing and diseases like cancer. These scientists claim that these free radicals may be needed for the body to recover after exercise.
In the study, 27 men in their mid-sixties were asked to perform eight weeks of high-intensity exercise training with half the group administered pills containing 250mg of Resveratrol a day; the other half received a placebo. Scientists expect to get the same result from women and younger men, says the report. The reports do not also clarify if the compound was given after the exercise or a reasonable period had elapsed. In real life, one is hardly expected to exercise for a couple of hours and polish off a bottle of red wine in order to accumulate the benefits.
Most media reports fail to point out that the amount of Resveratrol in the supplements studied was far higher than obtained from drinking wine alone. In any case, the jury is still out on the actual benefits gained from the supplement pills though it is already a multi-million dollar industry.
Despite the findings, wine lovers need not worry about the effect of the odd glass of red on their exercise routine since the amount of Resveratrol in the supplements studied was far higher than can be obtained from drinking wine alone.
Lasse Gliemann, a PhD student at The University of Copenhagen, who was the leader of the research said the team was surprised to see the results as this was contrary to what was earlier discovered in animal studies. Incidentally, many of the studies in the past have been done on mice and using the chemical that is found in wine. That is why perhaps the news story in the TOI last evening was 'conclusive' in damning red wine as it screamed ‘Red wine not good for older men’.
Source: Media Reports
Tags: Resveratrol, University of Copenhagen, Wine and Health, Lasse Gliemann |