Red Wine Helps Kick-Start Good Digestion

Portuguese study finds the beverage triggers chemical reactions inside the stomach

Source: Wine Spectator

Jacob Gaffney

Posted: October 14, 2009

Red wine not only goes well with a nice meal, it helps the stomach convert potentially harmful chemicals into less dangerous molecules before they're circulated in the body, according to a new study slated to be published in an upcoming journal of Toxicology. A team of Portuguese researchers found that specific polyphenols in red wine trigger the release of nitric oxide, a chemical that relaxes the stomach wall, helping to optimize digestion.

According to co-author Dr. João Laranjinha, an associate professor at the Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, the research bucks current theory. Since the 1990s, many researchers have believed that many of wine's observed health benefits are due to the antioxidative properties of polyphenols. Studies have found wine appears to counteract deleterious, oxidative injury to the body's molecules and cells, as with chronic, inflammatory conditions such as atherosclerosis, a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of arteries. 

An ingredient of red wine really is a 'wonderdrug', claim scientists, after research suggested it kills cancer cells and protects the heart and brain from damage.

Source: Daily Telegraph

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent

Published: 7:00AM BST 12 Jun 2009

Researchers claim moderate drinking of red wine appears to reduce "all causes of mortality" and protects people from age-related disorders such as dementia, diabetes and high blood pressure.

They said that the key ingredient appears to be resveratrol which in small doses acts as an antioxidant protecting organs but in larger quantities kills dangerous cancer cells.

Old age begins at 27 as mental powers start to decline, scientists find.

"The breadth of benefits is remarkable - cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases such as inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more," said Professor Lindsay Brown of the University of Queensland.