| Throughout centuries, people have searched | | | | the life of fruit flies and roundworms, Dr. |
| for a proverbial Fountain of Youth, a | | | | David Sinclair and a team of Harvard |
| fountain whose water can actually slow down | | | | researchers began to see if Resveratrol had |
| the aging process. From Juan Ponce de León | | | | the same affect on mice. While the concept of |
| to the modern day seeker, the search for the | | | | giving a red wine molecule to a group of mice |
| Fountain of Youth, much like the fountain | | | | may seem odd - leaving the mice inebriated |
| itself, springs eternal. | | | | and surrounded by relatives begging them not |
| | | | to get behind the wheel...of cheese - the |
| While this fountain's location has proven | | | | study actually drew conclusions that could |
| elusive, it's believed to be somewhere near | | | | leave Dr. Sinclair and his team sitting next |
| Florida, causing hopeful searchers to leave | | | | to Jonas Salk on the spectrum of important |
| no Cadillac unturned: as the Atlantic winds | | | | scientific discoveries. |
| blow onto the shores, the sounds of "here | | | | |
| fountain fountain fountain" are often heard | | | | The researchers found, after a 110 week study |
| from afar. | | | | of mice placed on a high fat diet, that the |
| | | | mice who took Resveratrol lived longer than |
| The reason for this extensive hunt is simple: | | | | the mice who did not. Despite ingesting foods |
| when it comes to life, everyone hopes to find | | | | that were high in fat, the mice who took |
| an extension cord. | | | | Resveratrol had a mortality rate of 32 |
| | | | percent, while the mice who didn't take |
| Though the Fountain of Youth hasn't provided | | | | Resveratrol had a mortality rate of 50 |
| us with this extension - as its waters have | | | | percent. |
| yet to be packaged, labeled, and displayed in | | | | |
| the vitamin aisles of the local market - | | | | The reasons for this, the researchers |
| there is something that may serve as a close | | | | concluded, is that Resveratrol essentially |
| second: red wine. | | | | copies calorie restriction, giving those who |
| | | | ingest it the same benefits of those who |
| Red Wine Slows Down Aging | | | | restrict their food intake. In sum, |
| | | | Resveratrol ignites the will to survive in |
| Most of us are aware of the health benefits | | | | the cells, rewarding the person who ingests |
| of red wine. From lowering blood pressure to | | | | it with a longer life. |
| helping cardiovascular health, red wine is | | | | |
| giving all sorts of diseases something to | | | | Could it be the Same in People? |
| whine about. However, recent discovery has | | | | |
| led scientists to believe that, in addition | | | | While mice - living an average of 2 years - |
| to increasing health, the consumption of red | | | | were an ideal subject matter for the |
| wine may single handedly decrease the | | | | Resveratrol study, testing in people, because |
| mortality rate and slow the aging process: | | | | our lifespan is about 40 times that of a |
| belly up to the bar and order a Merlot, with | | | | mouse, is not as convenient. Therefore, human |
| an added dash of lifespan. | | | | testing has yet to be done. However, it's |
| | | | highly theorized that a Resveratrol study |
| Calorie Restriction | | | | would find a similar outcome, whether the |
| | | | test is performed on mice or men. . The main |
| There are a lot of things that a person can | | | | reason for this prediction is the French. |
| do to increase the years they will live. From | | | | |
| lowering cholesterol to working out on a | | | | The French are a culture bent on poor eating |
| daily basis, several practices work together | | | | - consuming foods high in fat and calories - |
| to give the average person more years of | | | | and inactivity. Despite having a lifestyle |
| living. Yet, nothing increases a human's | | | | that serves as a manual for a heart attack, |
| lifespan quite like the act of calorie | | | | heart disease is not an enemy of France. The |
| restriction, limiting caloric intake to a | | | | majority of the French simply do not get |
| minimum. Some researchers estimate that | | | | heart disease. The reason for this is because |
| calorie restriction can increase lifespan by | | | | they, in addition to being a culture who |
| as many as 50 years. | | | | consumes foods high in saturated fat and |
| | | | fails to exercise, are also a culture that |
| However, from Alfredo sauce to zucchini | | | | consumes a lot of red wine. This red wine has |
| bread, our world is a world that loves to | | | | proven to be the one variable that seems to |
| eat. Because of this, restricting calories | | | | enable them to sidestep death, allowing them, |
| isn't very feasible; we have a better chance | | | | despites some vices, to live a great deal of |
| at actually finding the Fountain of Youth | | | | years. In fact, in areas of France where wine |
| than we do of not consuming the T-bone steak | | | | is grown, citizens live 35 to 65 percent |
| sitting on the dinner table, begging us to | | | | longer than citizens residing in a |
| stick a fork in it. . | | | | non-growing district. |
| | | | |
| Taking into consideration the fact that | | | | How much Red Wine Should People Drink? |
| humans aren't likely to engage in caloric | | | | |
| limitations, scientists began looking for a | | | | While this "Fountain of Youth" discovery is |
| way that people could have their cake, and | | | | great news for wine lovers, it has the |
| literally eat it too. | | | | potential to perpetuate the wrong idea, with |
| | | | some people locking themselves in a liquor |
| The Sirtuin 1 Gene | | | | store, grabbing a corkscrew, and drinking all |
| | | | the wine on the shelves in a quest to live |
| Calorie restriction activates the Sirtuin 1 | | | | forever. Like all of the benefits of red |
| Gene, a gene that is known to heavily | | | | wine, the key is moderation. |
| influence the continued existence in all | | | | |
| living cells. Once this gene is activated, | | | | Right now, it is recommended that people |
| cells go into survival mode, putting more | | | | hoping to consume Resveratrol drink one or |
| effort into longevity. This ultimately, as | | | | two glasses of red wine a day. Because the |
| cells fight harder to stay alive, increases | | | | air can alter Reservatrol's potency, it's |
| lifespan. | | | | best to drink red wine that has been recently |
| | | | opened. While white wine has some |
| However, calorie restriction, as scientists | | | | Resveratrol, red wine has about ten times |
| have discovered, is not the only thing that | | | | more. Along these lines, wines grown in |
| can activate the Sirtuin 1 Gene. Recent | | | | cooler climates - such as New York - have |
| studies have found that red wine also | | | | more Resveratrol than wines grown in hot |
| possesses this talent. Due to the fact that | | | | climates, such as Australia. Pinot Noir is |
| red wine contains Resveratrol, a class of | | | | believed to be among the wines with the |
| antibiotics produced by plants that activates | | | | highest levels. |
| the Sirtuin 1 Gene, drinking it can add years | | | | |
| to life. With each glass of red wine | | | | While the Fountain of Youth may not have |
| consumed, a cell's urge to exist becomes | | | | technically been found, this red wine |
| stronger, the body is filled with | | | | discovery is allowing us to feel its mist. By |
| antioxidants, and Gloria Gaynor's "I will | | | | igniting our cells will to survive and |
| Survive" is heard, reverberating off the | | | | filling our body with life preserving |
| strands of DNA. | | | | antioxidants, red wine may slow down the |
| | | | aging process, allowing humans to stay |
| The Data Speaks | | | | younger and live longer than they ever |
| | | | thought possible. |
| After discovering that Resveratrol lengthened | | | | |