Personalities

Red wine is the major “food” source of a polyphenol called resveratrol, which has gotten a huge amount of media attention due to the outstanding research of a Harvard professor named David Sinclair. Resveratrol, also available in supplements, extends life – at least in every species studied so far. Red wine in moderation has been shown to protect the heart.

The key here is “moderate,” a word that some folks simply don’t process very well. (By the way, the definition of “moderate” in this context can be defined as about a glass a day for women and two for men.) Alcohol’s dark side is well known, and if you don’t like to drink, I wouldn’t recommend that you start just to get the benefits of resveratrol. It’s found in the skins of dark grapes from which the wine comes, so you can simply increase your grape intake or you can try a resveratrol supplement, available at most health food and vitamin shops.

It bears mentioning that even moderate alcohol consumption can slightly raise the risk of breast cancer for women who are deficient in folate (folic acid). So if you do consume red wine (or even if you don’t), make sure you’re taking at least the minimum recommended dose of folic acid in your supplement (400 to 800 mcg).