The fun—and function—of resveratrol

By now, everyone knows that red wine is good for you—not just for your palate and with red meat and mushroom risotto, but good for your cardiovascular system and personal longevity. It’s a veritable fountain of youth.

Reductionist-oriented scientists have teased out the responsible molecule: resveratrol. Yes, it’s really difficult to pronounce, especially after two glasses of wine. Let me help: res-VAIR-uh-trawl.

Grape plants produce resveratrol as an innate defense mechanism against stress—in particular, cold temperatures and excess moisture. But while grape skins provide resveratrol, a far more concentrated source comes from Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). Still, red wine is sexier, so savvy supplements makers blend the two—red wine grapes for sex appeal and knotweed for the actual active ingredient. Quality supps are likely individually foil-sealed because resveratrol oxidizes easily, which can render the pills moot.

Early studies showed that resveratrol extended the life span of everything researchers tested in a lab. Harvard scientists found that mice fed the equivalent of junk food along with resveratrol actually had the same improved general health as those eating a nutritious diet.

In 2008, the same researchers gave middle-age mice resveratrol and found that while they were more healthy and active than the poor slobs eating rat chow, they all lived to about the same age. Still, resveratrol added life to their years—improved vascular elasticity, greater motor coordination, reduced cataract formation, preserved bone-mineral density, decreased inflammation—if not years to their life. In yet another study, resveratrol also helped stop cancer-cell generation, promotion and progression.