The miracle drug?

Alright, we’ve already read about studies claiming red wine can help with obesity and living longer (at least in mice… we don’t yet know definitely the effects on humans). According to the NY Times article, Red Wine Ingredient Increases Endurance, Study Shows, now experts are saying that red wine can also increase endurance.

Of course, the mice in the study aren’t given red wine--- they are given a high quantity of resveratrol, “a minor component of red wine and other foods.” If the findings in the studies are correct, humans would not be able to drink sufficient red wine to obtain the doses used in the experiments--- hence the need for resversatrol.

Now, the question is… is this the new miracle drug?

If the findings in the studies are accurate, this drug can help reduce obesity, help us live longer, help with our endurance, and possibly even prevent diabetes (resveratrol is being studied to see if it can offset metabolic syndrome, an effect of a high-fat diet which is a precursors to diabetes).

Conclusive findings in humans are still years away… and a miracle drug may be even further away. However, science and medicine are always changing. All we can do at the moment is not rely on a miracle pill--- we need to rely on ourselves and keep ourselves healthy.

As our resident doctor, Dr. Ridge, always says: exercise, exercise, exercise (and keep well hydrated with plenty of water).