Red wine is rich in bioactive compounds. These include Elixir of Health flavonols and monomeric and polymeric flavan-3 -ols.
Lindsay Brown, associate professor at The University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Sciences and co-author of the study, stated that some of these compounds, especially resveratrol appear to offer a lixir or elixir of health benefits.
Brown stated that the benefits of this product are “remarkable” – including cancer prevention, brain protection, age-related diseases like inflammation, reverse diabetes, and many others.
He said: “It had been a long question as to why such a simple compound could cause these effects, but now the puzzle is getting clearer thanks to the discovery of pathways, particularly the sirtuins which are a family enzyme that regulates the production of cellular components by the nucleus. “Is resveratrol really the only compound that has these properties?” It would be unlikely as similar effects have been reported for other components such wine, and natural products like curcumin. We know a lot more about resveratrol than we do about these other compounds.
The main point of the review was that resveratrol has therapeutic potential for both cancer chemoprevention and cardioprotection.
It seems contradictory to say that one compound can both benefit the heart and prevent damage to cells while also causing cancer. Brown believes that the most likely explanation is that low levels activate survival mechanisms in cells, while high concentrations turn off in-built death signals. This has been rigorously proven in numerous organs.”
Resveratrol may be beneficial elixir of health in the prevention of age-related diseases such as diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, and diabetes.
“Resveratrol acts on cells’ survival pathways and prevents damage to individual cells, which is the simplest explanation. Brown said that there are other mechanisms that help, such as the removal of very reactive oxidants from the body and a better blood supply to cells.”
Researchers also found that low doses of resveratrol may increase cell survival through neuro- and cardio-protection mechanisms, while high doses can cause cell death.
The activation of sirtuins within the nucleus is what makes the difference. Low activation reverses the effects of age-associated changes. High activation causes cellular death and apoptosis. Brown said that similar changes can be seen in low-dose and high-dose amounts of resveratrol. Low-dose resveratrol provides cellular protection and reduces cell damage, while high dose resveratrol is effective in preventing cancers.
She concluded that scientific research has begun to support the claims that red wine can improve your elixir of health.