What is interesting though, is that the article is touching on the health benefits of a compound that can be found in red wine and its positive effect on the heart, hence the link to the gym. But what is in red wine that makes it good for our health, and what does that have to do with how we age?

The Magic Ingredient

Resveratrol. A compound, or more accurately a polyphenol, is found in high concentration in red grapes, along with rich plant based antioxidant foods such as blueberries and other vibrant coloured fruits.  Not to forget dark chocolate.  Oh, this just gets better, red wine and dark chocolate? A woman’s dream combination.

We know a diet rich in antioxidants is good for us, but why? Think of a nail that is left out in the rain for a while. What happens? It goes rusty. Or think of cutting an apple in two, what happens? It goes brown.  The nail and the apple are exposed to oxygen. Oxygen is found everywhere in our bodies and too much causes inflammation in our cells which causes a raft of health problems.  Eating foods that contain resveratrol can help to keep oxidation at bay leading to health benefits such as a strong heart and good digestion.

Resveratrol – The Gene Activator

But why is resveratrol good for longevity? Although early days, there is a growing body of research being conducted that links calorie restriction to the length of life. SIRT1, a gene found in humans and other mammals, helps to promote survival by protecting cells during times when food, and therefore energy, is scarce. Resveratrol has been found to be the most common naturally occurring activator, to switch on this gene, thus mimicking scarcity without us having to starve.

Three Benefits For Healthy Aging

In protecting our body against oxidative stress and damage, resveratrol can slow down the aging of our cells. Three big benefits are:

1. Memory Protection Against Alzheimer’s Disease: Resveratrol protects us against cell damage and prevents age-related mental decline. It also helps to sharpen memory.

2. Muscular Strength: Resveratrol boosts endurance including improved physical performance and muscle density. It also helps with coordination.

3. Lowers Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke: Resveratrol helps to remove chemicals responsible for causing blood clots, which is the primary cause of coronary heart disease.

Reserve – A Natural Supplement

Whilst I try to have a diet rich in antioxidants, I love red wine after all, I decided to explore the world of innovative aging technologies, and find out how I could naturally supplement this magic ingredient, resveratrol.

A year ago I started taking a health product called Reserve.  It comes in a gel format, which allows it to be absorbed faster than a capsule, and I drink one a day before I eat my breakfast. Reserve contains 185 mg of resveratrol and has been proven, through CAP-e testing, which checks whether antioxidants are capable of crossing the cellular membrane, to protect live cells from oxidative damage.  Reserve achieved 37.1 units per cubic centimeter, far above standard.  It is a completely natural product and contains, as well as red grapes, other fruits rich in antioxidants; pomegranate, acai and blueberry, cherry as well as green tea.


I took blood tests before I started Reserve and then have tracked my blood during the course of the year.  The biggest impact that I have noticed; apart from increased energy and stamina, a sense of well-being and a sharper memory, have been a reduction of uric acid from 7.3 down to 0.3 and a significant reduction in my cholesterol levels. Needless to say my doctor became a fan and started to take Reserve himself!

So Not Just One Glass Then

Now, back to our red wine.  Whilst one study I read, conducted over a 29-year period, revealed that red wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate that beer or vodka drinkers, How much wine would we really need to consume, in one sitting, to get the equivalent benefit of resveratrol? In scrolling through the reader’s comments, from the UK article, I came across its source – The Journal of Physiology, May 2012.

Title, now hold your breath, “Improvements in skeletal muscle strength and cardiac function induced by resveratrol during exercise training contribute to enhanced exercise performance in rats.” This reader obviously loved the science so much she or he took great pains to work out the equivalent wine intake for a human being.

And I quote:

“The study was done on wistar rats using 4g/kg of resveratrol added to their food. A rat consumes about 15 to 30 grams of food per day making the daily resveratrol intake around 60 to 120mg.

Here is the Human Equivalent Dose: 60_to_120mg/kg x 6Km / 37Km x 70kg =681_to_1,362mg resveratrol for a 70kg human; this is the amount of resveratrol found in approximately 340 to 680 bottles of wine”.

So, not quite one glass then.

Resveratrol has 185 mg, so do your sums. Quite a few bottles that I could never drink in one sitting. I am happy.  All the benefits without the sugar, alcohol content or hangover! So think twice before you ditch your work out or rush off to stock up on some extra cases of red wine.

Umm…but a glass or two of my favourite red; Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserve from the Rioja region of Spain accompanied with Green and Blacks organic dark chocolate - maybe I will skip the gym tonight.

To read about Reserve and other healthy aging innovative technologies download Natalie’s free e-book below. and visit the Energise Life page to find out more about Natalie's work.