Low doses of red wine fight against diabetes. The ingredient responsible is the popular resveratrol, which has been found to be able to improve the sensitivity of mice to the hormone insulin. Yes, not yet in humans but in mice.




Such were the findings of a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, whose findings have been reported in the October issue of Cell Metabolism (a Cell Press publication).

Commented by Qiwei Zhai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences:

The results suggest that red wine might have some benefits for insulin sensitivity, but it needs to be confirmed by further investigation.

Given the potential complications of drinking alcohol, an even better option may be to find other natural foods enriched with resveratrol or foods supplemented with resveratrol.

The chemical is also an active ingredient in other plants, including one called Polygonum cuspidatum used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine.

The above findings have a huge potential in the development of new therapeutic approach for preventing or treating insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in humans.

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