How Red Wine Could Help You Slim
MelindaCarstensen,SELF magazine
Scientists have been touting the health benefits of red wine for years, saying sipping in moderation could help reduce your risk for heart disease and even cancer. But new research from Purdue University suggests it could provide another benefit for your bod: a slimmer waist.
Turns out that piceatannol, a compound found in red wine, berries and other fruits, can delay and even stunt fat cell development, researchers explain in the March 30 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
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Previous research has revealed that vino contains resveratrol, a compound that may play a role in the prevention of heart disease, cancer and other diseases. Resveratrol may also help blast fat: Women who had a daily glass of alcohol, particularly wine, were 30 percent less likely to gain weight, SELF reported in November 2011.
Because the two compounds are chemically similar (after you consume resveratrol, your body converts it into piceatannol), Purdue University researchers decided to further explore how they affect human cells, says Kee-Hong Kim, assistant professor in the Purdue University Department of Food Science, who supervised the study.
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Kim and student Jung Yeon Kwon, who conducted the research, only studied cells, so they can't yet quantify piceatannol's waist-whittling properties. However, that's the next step. They're currently studying how piceatannol affects rats' body masses. "The human study will be our ultimate goal," Kim says.
For now, the mere prospect of red wine wine's slimming abilities adds an extra dose of happy to our happy hour. But stick to one drink a day, experts say, and you might do your body good in other ways as well (a 2009 study linked binge drinking to unhealthy belly fat!). Alcohol in vino lowers levels of free fatty acids, high levels of which may lead to type 2 diabetes, SELF reported in December 2010, and resveratrol, also present in fiber-filled peanuts and juicy grapes, can even help sharpen your memory, SELF reported in August 2010.
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Understanding the role of piceatannol in human health is "only in its infancy," Kim says. But for now, sip, don't binge, and your spirits -- and, if future research holds up, your tummy -- will be lighter.
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