A recent study offers us a good reason to raise a glass to a long and healthy life each and every night.

A flavonoid called resveratrol, contained in wine, has been shown to lengthen the lifespans and vitality of chubby mice. Both white and red wine contain resveratrol, but red wine has about 10 times as much as white wine.

In a study conducted by Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Aging, a group of year-old male mice was fed a normal diet, while another was fed a high-fat diet, and a third the same high-fat diet plus resveratrol. mykindredlife

The fat mice whose diet included this red wine extract lived several months longer than the other fat mice and just as long as the first group of mice. On top of that, they had the agility of the first group, so they had a pretty fulfilling mouse life.

What does this mean for us?

Scientists say these results can’t be extrapolated to humans yet. A similar study using rhesus monkeys will bring findings more relevant to humans.

Meanwhile, many are getting excited about the mouse results anyway, partly because they see a relationship between this study and the so-called “French Paradox.”

It seems that people in France eat high-fat diets and exercise little, yet live long lives with a relatively low incidence of heart disease. There’s an accompanying belief that the French appreciation for wine is the happy reason.

While there isn’t enough evidence to confirm this, it sure is tempting to believe that a diet of soufflé and vichyssoise accompanied with a nice merlot makes for a healthy diet.

Still, the current evidence is promising, and you can bet those scientists are still at it, trying to find out if we can live the long, decadent lives we all dream of.

99 bottles of wine on the wall…

One little problem, though: if resveratrol can do for us what it does for mice, the amount you’d need to consume through red wine – about 100 bottles a day – is enough to kill you (or at least leave you spending the rest of your long life with your head over a toilet).

That’s why a different kind of bottle, a little plastic one containing resveratrol supplements, is already showing up on store shelves.

Researchers from the study warn that there is no way of knowing if there are harmful effects from long-term use of resveratrol and advise against using the supplements.

It seems a better option would be to buy the kind of bottle the French would buy. A nice Pinot Noir is one an excellent choice to compliment a long, healthy life, as it has more resveratrol than other wines. diagnozujmy

But you’ll want to sample a variety to avoid boredom, as you should have a glass or two each evening in order to reap the hoped-for benefits.