Red Wine Acts Like Low-Calorie Diet

Red wine may explain why some people can eat a diet loaded with saturated fats and still have a healthy heart, researchers said.

A study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that resveratrol, which is found in grapes, pomegranates and other foods, may be the key. The work was based on studies of mice; results in animals sometimes do not translate to people.

In the journal Public Library of Science One, the researchers said that low doses of resveratrol mimic the effects of what is known as caloric restriction -- diets with 20 to 30 percent fewer calories than a typical diet. Other studies have shown those diets can extend lifespan and slow aging.

Senior author Richard Weindruch said the study shows benefits to resveratrol in doses that people can easily eat or drink. Sometimes, reports of benefits from a certain food require amounts that are hundreds of times higher than someone could get in their diet.

Previous research has shown that resveratrol in high doses extends lifespan in invertebrates and prevents early death in mice given a high-fat diet, a news release said.

The new study showed that low doses beginning in middle age can get many of the same benefits.

"Resveratrol is active in much lower doses than previously thought and mimics a significant fraction of the profile of caloric restriction at the gene expression level," said another author, Tomas Prolla.

In short, a glass of wine or food or supplements that contain even small doses of resveratrol are likely to represent "a robust intervention in the retardation of cardiac aging," the authors said.