It was good news when we found out that resveratrol, an antioxidant found in the skins of red grapes, and therefore in red wine, has potent cancer-fighting, heart-helping and life-lengthening properties. The latest study on this healthy compound shows that it may, too, prevent obesity. Maybe that’s really why French women don’t get fat?
The trial studied the effects of resveratrol supplements on lemurs, a primate, to best understand what the results would be in humans. The animals experience a seasonal mass increase and the scientists wanted to find out if resveratrol would help buffer their additional winter weight.
At the conclusion of the study, researchers found that the lemurs’ resting metabolic rate increased by 29 percent. They also ate 13 percent less food and gained .5 grams per day rather than the typical 1.2 grams per day. Study researcher Fabienne Aujard, of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, France likened the lemurs reduction in weight gain to a 10 to 15 percent weight gain reduction in humans.
The results lead the scientists to believe that resveratrol may reduce weight gain and actually help to prevent obesity. ”The overall goal would be to develop some dietary supplementation or nutrient strategies that could interfere and decrease body mass gain and obesity,” Aujard told LiveScience.
So, no, red wine alone may not make you skinny. However, this study provides another stepping stone for scientists to grasp a deeper understanding of obesity and what may eventually help to prevent it.
Photo by Digimist via Flickr.