Study questions benefits of chocolate, red wine
By Sarah Klein, Huffington Post
Although long considered a veritable silver bullet when it comes to preventing health problems, a new study calls into question the superpowers of the antioxidant resveratrol.
According to the recent research, diets high in the compound — found in red wine, grapes and chocolate — showed no significant decrease in heart disease, cancer or death.
To examine the long-term impact of resveratrol, researchers looked to the longitudinal “Aging in the Chianti Region” study. They examined the compound’s presence in urine samples from 783 healthy men and women, 65 years old or older, living in two Italian villages within the Chianti region. The researchers were confident that their measure would accurately reflect resveratrol from food and drink sources, since supplement use is unusual in this region, while regular red wine consumption is common.