It’s not the wine making you feel good; it’s the resveratrol

It's not the wine making you feel good

It's the resveratrol

Despite a diet rich in saturated fats, high prevalence of cigarette smoking, and the consumption of large amounts of alcohol, the French have a low rate of cardiovascular diseases. The conclusion? There’s something in the wine.

Red wine has long been thought to be good for you—in small doses­—and in 1992, two Cornell University scientists suggested resveratrol might be the compound responsible. In recent years, resveratrol has been shown to help support healthy ageing, including bone health, heart health, and metabolism—particularly during and after menopause. Resveratrol is an antioxidant, chemically related to oestrogen. While this means supplements are questionable for women with breast, ovarian or uterine cancer, pregnant women or those taking an oral contraceptive, resveratrol can be beneficial in the large doses seen in health supplements—unfortunately, a large glass of red wine won’t cut it.

While life expectancy has increased, menopause still hits around the same time, meaning women may spend between a third and one half of their lives post-menopause. Menopause is part of normal ageing for women and is defined as the point where the ovaries are no longer functional; oestrogen production is decreased, resulting in a variety of symptoms such as mood changes, increased perception of pain, lowered sexual desire, loss of skin elasticity, and progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function. This is where resveratrol can help: as well as being a phytoestrogen, it has antioxidant properties and promotes mitochondrial biogenesis (it helps the body grow new mitochondrial cells to drive energy production).

As an antioxidant, resveratrol has promising effects on heart health and immune health: a 2015 review concluded it may help reduce systolic blood pressure—the pressure exerted on artery walls when the heart beats—by helping the body produce more nitric oxide, causing age-stiffened arteries to relax. Its antioxidant properties have also been shown to slow down age-related cognitive decline by interfering with beta-amyloids—the protein fragments that cause the plaques seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Antioxidants also help lessen inflammation from oxidative stress, meaning resveratrol can help prevent chronic diseases caused by high levels of inflammation.

Related to its heart health benefits, resveratrol may influence cholesterol levels in the blood by reducing the efficacy of the enzyme that controls cholesterol production. In mouse studies, researchers found the average total cholesterol levels and body weight of the mice decreased, while their levels of HDL (good) cholesterol increased. As an antioxidant, it may also decrease the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

During the ageing process, the balance between bone formation and bone resorption degrades, as the decrease in circulating oestrogen limits the body’s ability to protect the bones. This can lead to bone loss and 30 percent of postmenopausal women have been found to have osteoporosis. Resveratrol may increase the number and activity of osteoblasts­—the bone forming cells—helping to restore the balance between formation and resorption. At the same time, osteoarthritis is the progressive wear and tear of joint cartilage, causing pain. As a phytoestrogen, resveratrol can help by improving pain perception, as a lower tolerance to pain is a symptom of lower oestrogen levels.

While more studies are always needed and human clinical trials are yet to result in clear dosage guidance, resveratrol has shown promise for a variety of health conditions, particularly in supporting women through and after the menopause.