A study suggests that small amounts of resveratrol, which red wine contains, could replicate estrogen’s health benefits. These include protection against metabolic diseases and cognitive decline. Large amounts, however, may have the opposite effect.
Estrogen is a steroid hormone that both males and females produce naturally. It is famous for regulating reproduction, but it also protects against some diseases of aging, such as type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Research by Henry Bayele, Ph.D., a molecular biologist at University College London in the United Kingdom, suggests that in small amounts, resveratrol — which is in peanuts, pistachios, the skin of grapes, red wine, blueberries, raspberries, and even cocoa and dark chocolate — may reproduce these health benefits.
His in vitro study of human liver cells found that the compound exerts its physiological effects by activating receptors for estrogen.
The activation of estrogen receptors switches on proteins called sirtuins, which play a wide variety of roles in healthy aging. These roles include controlling mitochondrial biogenesis, promoting the repair of DNA, and regulating metabolism.
Biologists view sirtuins as excellent potential drug targets because they protect against several conditions associated with aging, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative diseases.
“Numerous studies in animals have suggested that these proteins could prolong healthy lifespan by preventing or slowing disease onset,” says Bayele. “But developing