The Latest Word: Red Wine & Chocolate

A daily glass of wine and a few bites of dark chocolate and you’ll live forever—that’s what the media would have us believe. And, boy, would we love to believe it. But should we? The answer is yes—with a caveat: don’t overdo it

Chocolate contains flavonoids, particularly potent antioxidants that possess “a very good ability to clear free radicals and protect against inflammation, which helps in protecting your heart,” says diet and aging researcher Paula Bickford, Ph.D. Indeed, one study found that people who ate 1.6 ounces of dark chocolate a day (about four squares, or 220 calories’ worth) for two weeks gained strong antioxidant benefits. Of course, you’d have to cut something else out of your diet—or run two to three miles a day—to justify those extra calories. Instead, Bickford recommends adding a teaspoon of plain cocoa powder (which has fewer calories and no sugar) to chili or other southwestern recipes. Or treat yourself to one square of dark chocolate a day—60 percent or 70 percent cocoa is ideal because it contains higher levels of flavonoids and less sugar.

Red wine contains an abundance of the antioxidant resveratrol, which naturally stimulates the sirtuins—genes that help mop up free radicals, stabilize blood glucose levels, and otherwise make our cells healthier. To produce significant life-extending effects, though, you would probably need to drink five to 15 glasses of red wine a day. Long before you’d benefit from cellular rejuvenation, you’d possibly be facing liver and other organ damage. That’s why few scientists recommend drinking more than one or two glasses of red wine a day. (Studies also have shown that drinking a modest amount of red wine has benefits other than those obtained by its resveratrol content.) One thing to look for in the future: some wineries are starting to add resveratrol content to their labels. While some wines contain 3 to 4 micromolar of resveratrol (a micromolar is a way to measure the concentration of any compound in a liquid), others may have as much as 46 micromolar. As label ing resveratrol grows more popular, higher amounts, says Bickford, would be something to look for when browsing at your local wine shop.

You can view the entire article by clicking on this link below:
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/health/wine_and_chocolate.html

Source: (AARP Magazine, September & October 2006)

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