Resveratrol Is red wine really healthy?

Resveratrol: Researchers doubt health-promoting substance in red wine

05/13/2014

The long-term red wine ingredient resveratrol, which has long been recognized as being beneficial to health, performed poorly in a long-term study with nearly 800 older people. According to the researchers, there are no signs of a life-prolonging effect. Not all experts share the implications of the investigation.

No life-prolonging effect
In a long-term study of nearly 800 elderly people, a commonly considered health-promoting red wine ingredient has done poorly. Like the research team around Richard Semba from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (US state of Maryland) in the journal „JAMA Internal Medicine“ writes, there are no signs of a life-prolonging effect of resveratrol. The substance is said to help against inflammation and to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer. He finds himself among other things in wine, peanuts or chocolate. The study now met with different reactions.

Study with older people in a wine-growing region
For nine years, 783 women and men from two villages in a wine-growing region in Tuscany (Italy) were examined by Semba and his team. Among other things, urine samples were examined for resveratrol and information on diet and health was requested. In the first survey, all subjects were older than 64 years. The researchers each ordered the participants after three, six and nine years to determine long-term effects. The study found that women and men took up resveratrol mainly through wine. A total of 34.2 percent of the participants were nine years after the first examination dead. On average, the deceased were older, moving less, had more diabetes and suffered more from chronic nephritis and heart failure. Among the deceased, the proportion of smokers was slightly increased. According to the scientists, moderate drinking was not enough. However, the amount of resveratrol absorbed also played no measurable role. Even among those who still lived after nine years, subjects with a high resveratrol score were not healthier on average. There is no indication that the resveratrol has the beneficial effects that are attributed to it.

Studies show positive effects of moderate red wine consumption
Semba says: „The resveratrol story seems to be another example of a health hype that does not stand up to scrutiny.“ However, the researchers emphasize that this does not mean that red wine and co are ineffective. Various studies have already well documented the positive effects of moderate red wine consumption, and the beneficial effects of dark chocolate and soft fruit have also been proven. Even the heart attack risk could be lowered. The German Heart Foundation in Frankfurt am Main has already pointed out years ago that in their opinion a moderate red wine enjoyment can protect against calcification of the blood vessels and even lower high cholesterol levels. Referring to the results of the long-term study, Semba said: „However, the positive effects appear to come from other polyphenols or substances in these foods.“

Different reactions to the study results
First reactions to the study results are very different. For example, Björn Lemmer, emeritus professor of pharmacology at the University of Heidelberg, believes that the good reputation of resveratrol has suffered as a result of this study. „In my opinion, the study is very well planned and many parameters were examined. You can not say anything at all“, so the expert. Resveratrol can no longer be marketed as a health product. The substance is, for example, as an important ingredient in red wine extract as a dietary supplement on the market. His colleague Professor Huige Li from the University Medical Center in Mainz comes to a very different conclusion: „The study can not be used to assess the effects of resveratrol itself.“ The amount of active ingredient in a liter of red wine is about one hundred times lower than in conventional resveratrol pills. In principle, only the health-promoting effect of wine drinking had been investigated. (Sb)