Red Wine, Diabetes, and You

Many of us have heard about the health effects associated with moderate consumption of red wine.  This article looks at a potential link between red wine and insulin dependency.  Interesting news here...

Red Wine Compound May Curb Diabetes

Compound, Called Resveratrol, Counters Insulin Resistance in Lab Tests

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, may counter type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, a new study shows.

Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar. When the body becomes less sensitive to insulin, that's called insulin resistance, a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes.

Resveratrol curbs insulin resistance in mice, Chinese scientists report.

They included Cheng Sun and Qiwei Zhai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.

If the findings apply to people, it might be possible to create new resveratrol drugs that could be a "valuable new strategy for treating insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes," write the researchers.

But don't count on a glass of wine to do the same thing. It would take quite a bit of wine to reach the same level of resveratrol.

"According to our findings, people might need to drink about three liters of red wine each day to get sufficient resveratrol -- about 15 milligrams -- for its biological effects," Zhai says in a news release.

The researchers aren't recommending that anyone rely on wine to help their insulin sensitivity.

Resveratrol Research

Resveratrol is found in grapes (especially in red wine), raspberries, peanuts, and other plants that use resveratrol to defend against threats such as disease.

Sun's team found that insulin-resistant mice become more sensitive to insulin when given resveratrol.

How does that work? The scientists' experiments with cells in test tubes show that resveratrol spurs a gene called SIRT1 to become more active, boosting insulin sensitivity.

The findings appear in October's edition of the journal Cell Metabolism.

Comments

[Mary Harper]

Resveratrol can help you to lead a long and healthy life so says Dr. Oz.

Resveratrol Supplements can help you control your weight naturally
by increasing energy, reducing cravings, and limiting your appetite.
According to Wikipedia, Consumer Lab, an independent dietary
supplement and over the counter products evaluation organization,
published a report on 13 November 2007 on the popular resveratrol
supplements. The organization reported that there exists a wide range
in quality, dose, and price among the 13 resveratrol products
evaluated. The actual amount of resveratrol contained in the
different brands range from 2.2mg for Revatrol, which claimed to have
400mg of "Red Wine Grape Complex", to 500mg for Biotivia.com Transmax,
which is consistent with the amount claimed on the product's label.
Prices per 100mg of resveratrol ranged from less than $.30 for
products made by Biotivia.com, jarrow, and country life, to a high of
$45.27 for the Revatrol brand. None of the products tested were found
to have significant levels of heavy metals or other contaminants.