The £1-a-day red wine wonder pill to combat heart disease, cancer and poverty in Africa.

Ok so I made that last one up…but seriously!!!

The U.K newspaper the Daily Mail recently reported on “a £1-a-day red wine wonder pill that claims to ward off heart ­disease, cancer and diabetes is to go on sale in Britain for the first time.”

“Makers Biotivia claim the resveratrol supplement – derived from an anti­oxidant found in grape skins and ­naturally present in red wine – is as ­beneficial as exercise. They say the drug can also protect against Alzheimer’s as well as delaying the ageing process and tackling ­obesity-related health problems.”

Now, I’m obviously not a doctor, to be honest I don’t even have my first aid badge from my time spent in the boy scouts; however these type of claims scare me. I’m actually surprised this has only just made the news in the UK! I’ve been seeing resveratrol supplement ads on the Internet and for sale in the U.S. for a couple of years now. I’ve also been reading that sales in the U.S. are apparently through the roof, which means that people are buying into this crap.

Key “Resveratrol” into Google and see what you come up with. The results from vendors of the product are insane, with the Google Ads sidebar also stacked full of sponsors! On things like this I tend to just go with my gut instinct! I remember all the Tahitian Noni juice ads from years ago. What ever happened to those!?!?
I have no doubt in my mind that red wine (in combination with exercise and healthy eating) will help you live a happy and healthy life, I just don’t think it should be touted as the fountain of youth.

The interesting thing to note in the Daily Mail article is that “…although some positive results have been found in animal studies, there has been no published research to show it works in humans. Even the animal studies used doses equivalent to 2,000mg a day, while doctors advise that humans should take a daily dose of no more than 50mg.”

In conclusion, all I’m saying is don’t believe everything you read. I know that Doctor’s are telling people that red wine is better for you than all other forms of alcohol, and I think that’s great! Just don’t expect that buying one bottle will help you live to be 100. This may seem like an exaggeration on my part, but I honestly talk to people that truly believe this every week!
I would also say that if you don’t like the taste of red wine, I actually wouldn’t recommend on depending on it as part of a healthy lifestyle. You’ll never be able to keep it up as a regular habit.

So, do I see myself popping a resveratrol pill every day like the seemingly happy couple in the vineyard below? No, I think I’ll stick with drinking my wine the old fashioned way, thanks!