We’ve all heard the “red wine is good for you” argument before, but let’s face it; not everyone would choose a glass of red wine over a nice, cold beer. I wouldn’t, at least. Anyway, the actual benefit of drinking red wine comes from a cancer-fighting chemical called resveratrol, which occurs naturally in grapes.
The problem with the red wine argument is that you’d have to consume about a half a bottle each day to get the beneficial effects of the chemical. If only someone could figure out how to add a more potent blend to delicious, nutritious beer…
Six students at Rice University in Houston have figured out a way to add a genetically engineered version of resveratrol to beer. To beer! I’ll concede that this idea totally trumps the idea that my friends and I came up with in college of somehow adding smoking to beer. You’d basically take a sip and then exhale smoke. We ran into problems figuring out how to keep a cigarette lit while inside a liquid-filled can.
What I’m trying to say is that the Rice University beer is a much better, healthier idea. It’s basically the complete opposite of what we were trying to accomplish. The team is getting help from Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston to develop a resveratrol-infused yeast and expects that, within about five years, beer companies everywhere would be able to purchase the odorless, tasteless chemical to add to their own brews.
[via Computerworld]
“The problem with the red wine argument is that you’d have to consume about a half a bottle each day to get the beneficial effects of the chemical.”….
Looks like a nice little justification for my consumption (as opposed to a problem)
Resveratrol can help you to lead a long and healthy life so says Dr. Oz.
Red wine alone does not supply enough resveratrol to achieve the
full range of benefits. You need to take high potency resveratrol
supplements to achieve the results documented in scientific studies.
Resveratrol Supplements can also help you control your weight naturally
by increasing energy, reducing cravings, and limiting your appetite.
According to Wikipedia, Consumer Lab, an independent dietary
supplement and over the counter products evaluation organization,
published a report on 13 November 2007 on the popular resveratrol
supplements. The organization reported that there exists a wide range
in quality, dose, and price among the 13 resveratrol products
evaluated. The actual amount of resveratrol contained in the
different brands range from 2.2mg for Revatrol, which claimed to have
400mg of “Red Wine Grape Complex”, to 500mg for Biotivia.com Transmax,
which is consistent with the amount claimed on the product’s label.
Prices per 100mg of resveratrol ranged from less than $.30 for
products made by Biotivia.com, jarrow, and country life, to a high of
$45.27 for the Revatrol brand.