If you read our daily offer email, you know we sometimes phrases like “neuron-firing” and “brain percolating” to describe a really excellent wine.
As it turns out we are, in fact, quite literally correct about those claims.
You see, according to a bunch of folks in white smocks, if you’re over the age of 60 now might be a good time to add red wine to your supplemental routine. That’s because in addition to an innumerable list of healing powers, heaps of scientific reports point to drinking red wine as an effective way to fend off neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Good news! Yet another study confirms resveratrol and polyphenols in red wine may keep your brain running strong.
The latest study supporting this idea comes from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Not surprisingly, they credit polyphenols found in wine, and specifically the mighty resveratrol as the driving force that keeps the neural pathways greased up.
Wine Spectator reported on the study, saying “The UCLA team conducted the study with five men and five women, ranging from ages 66 to 82, who had experienced mild decline in cognition for at least six months. People who had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another cause of dementia, or who were taking medication for it, were excluded.”
Half the participants took a placebo, and the other half took a freeze dried powder made from red wine grapes. Six months later, the researchers compared all sorts of brain tests between the two groups. The grape dust eaters had improved metabolic activity in key parts of the brain compared to the placebo group, which actually showed a decrease in brain activity according to Dr. Daniel Silverman, who led the study.
Scientists attribute memory decline to a few things, two of which include oxidative stress and a lack of anti-inflammatory response in the body. Red and white wines both contain plenty of beneficial polyphenols. In fact, we previously wrote about Champagne as brain fuel. However, only red wine contains resveratrol, which delivers a battering ram of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
This is hardly the first time we’ve heard about wine’s powerful brain protection ability.
Another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society concluded that “only intake of up to three daily servings of wine was associated with a lower risk of AD (Alzheimer’s disease)” and. Even smelling wine might benefit your memory. Researchers at Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas published a study citing sommeliers as less likely to get Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Basically, the somms had thicker parts of the brain responsible for smell and memory.
The simple act of smelling wine might even help stimulate the brain
These studies aren’t really groundbreaking, but they do confirm what we’ve been trying to tell people for years – drinking wine makes you wicked smart and super good looking. So here’s to another completely legitimate, science-based reason to pour yourself a glass or two.
