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Red wine can extend life and counter the negative effects of an unhealthy high-fat diet, according to a new study by Harvard Medical School.
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A natural substance found in red wine can extend life and counter the negative effects of an unhealthy high-fat diet, researchers at the Harvard Medical School and the US National Institute of Aging said.
Researchers have discovered that a compound in red wine called resveratrol caused lab mice to live longer. Not only that, the mice also experienced a reversal in genes associated with heart disease, diabetes and other weight-related maladies.
They carried the study out on mice fed on a diet so high in saturated fats that it was equivalent to eating a cream cake with every meal. Mice on the fatty diet became obese, suffered health disorders such as liver and heart disease and died significantly earlier than mice on normal diets.
But when a second group of mice on the high-fat diet were given resveratrol, a plant extract found in grapes, their health and longevity were almostindistinguishablefrom normal mice, although they still became obese.
Resveratrol has already been identified as the chemical behind the so-called French Paradox, the phenomenon in which French people have low rates of heart disease even though their diet is traditionally high in meat, cheese and bread.
The resveratrol, had already shown the same benefits on worms, fruit flies and yeast.
"What we really would like to be the final answer, and can't quite say yet, is that resveratrol will mimic the effects of calorie restriction," said Joseph Baur of the team of Harvard.
But the study on mice is the first to show that resveratrol has survival benefits in amammal, Harvard Medical School said in a statement.
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(Agencies)
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據哈佛醫學院和美國老年研究會的研究人員介紹，紅葡萄酒中所含的一種天然物質可以抵消有害健康的高脂肪飲食的負面影響，能起到延年益壽的作用。
研究人員在紅葡萄酒中發現了一種名叫白藜蘆醇（屬于多元酚類）的物質，這種物質不僅使試驗小白鼠的壽命得以延長，而且還減少了它們患心臟病、糖尿病和由肥胖引發的其它疾病的幾率。
研究人員給其中一組小白鼠喂食飽和脂肪，相當于每頓吃一個奶油蛋糕，結果發現，這些小白鼠變成了“肥胖鼠”，而且還患上了肝病、心臟病等疾病，它們的壽命比飲食正常的白鼠要短得多。
而另一組小白鼠在被喂以高脂肪食物的同時，還攝入了從紅葡萄中提取的白藜蘆醇。結果發現，這組小白鼠雖然也變得肥胖，但它們的健康狀況和壽命與正常白鼠幾乎差不多。
此外，研究發現，白藜蘆醇是造成所謂的“法國異常”現象的主要原因。雖然法國人愛食肉類、奶酪和面包等脂肪含量較高的食物，但他們患心臟病的幾率較低。
紅葡萄酒中所含的多元酚對于昆蟲、果蠅和酵母具有同樣功效。
哈佛醫學院研究小組成員約瑟夫·鮑爾說：“我們希望得出的結論是，白藜蘆醇能夠起到與熱量限制相同的作用，但目前還無法確定。”
哈佛醫學院在發表的一份聲明中提到，此項“白鼠實驗”首次表明，多元酚能使哺乳動物的壽命延長。
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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