I love it when my interpretation of health studies justify the consumption of any treat – like for example a glass of wine. There have been many reports of red wine containing the substance resveratrol – which is described as a polyphenol phytoalexin. (Antioxidant). Resveratrol can be found in grapes, grape juice and grape skins. (By the way, I’m making grape jelly for my Christmas gift baskets this year).

Resveratrol has been described as estrogenic, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, chemopreventive and cardioprotective. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20623511

A 2010 study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20238161 carried out at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine of the life prolonging effect of red wine concluded that resveratrol can “induce the expression of several longevity genes” and “prevent aging-related decline in cardiovascular function including cholesterol level and inflammatory response” – (so that seems good to me) “but it is unable to affect actual survival or life span of mice” – well that’s too bad. So in laypersons terms – it seems to be good for our hearts, cholesteral levels and inflammation but the mice tested didn’t live any longer – so we can’t conclude that we will either.

In the meantime, a 2018 study published in Biomedicine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30205595 reviewed other studies of the anticancer effects of resveratrol and concluded that ”  is considered a potential candidate for prevention and treatment of several types of cancer. Indeed, resveratrol anticancer properties have been confirmed by many in vitro and in vivo studies, which shows that resveratrol is able to inhibit all carcinogenesis stages”.

As resveratrol is concentrated in the skins of red grapes, it is higher in red wine, purple grape juice and purple grape jelly. As the red grape skin is left on during the red wine fermentation process, the resveratrol becomes concentrated in the red wine, not so much white wine. Reservatrol is also found in blueberries, cranberries, peanuts and cocoa, so we don’t actually need to drink any wine at all. It is also available in supplements!

Please take all of this information with a grain of salt, as I am no health expert, and definitely no wine expert. In fact, I have been known to select the wine based on how many Airmiles are offered with purchase! I want to believe wine is good for me, so I’ll probably be earning a lot more Airmiles in the near future.

I’m also wondering if it’s too late to make a few batches of wine for the Christmas season? Cheers.