Drinking can be good for you
carolSIMONTACCHI csimontacchi@earthlink.net
I have never been a fan of heavy drinking. Bad for the liver. Makes the head feel terrible and you can't drive. There are better ways to get your two servings of fruit than fermenting it and drinking it on a barstool.

Several years ago, scientists came up with a good reason to drink, however. Something about grapes, longevity, and gene expression. Over the past 20 years, scientists around the world have confirmed that a lowcalorie, nutritionally balanced diet extends the lifespan, so these same scientists have been looking for the "longevity gene," in hopes they can produce a drug that turns the gene switch on. Once triggered by environmental cues, the longevity genes "switches on" and induces defensive changes at the cellular level, such as slowing metabolism and enhancing cellular respiration to help the body adapt to a beneficial survival program.

There is a family of genes called sirtuins that are produced by almost all life forms during times of stress such as famine. Sirtuins act as guardian genes that protect cells and enhance cellular survival. If enough cells survive, so do you.

The SIRT-1, for example, suppresses the enzyme system involved in suppressing tumor growth and instigating cell death (apoptosis). Suppressing the activity of this gene prevents the cycle of premature aging and enhances cell repair and prevents

unnecessary cell death.

A second sirtuin, SIR2, is activated by stress, and

increases DNA stability and speeds cellular repairs, while increasing total cell lifespan. Apparently, sirtuins buy cells time to repair

damage.

Calorie restriction triggers the activation of sirtuins, one of the ways by which calorie

restriction extends lifespan.

But no one wants to starve

throughout life just to live

longer. This is where red wine comes into the discussion, because one of the potent activators of sirtuins is resveratrol from grapes. Yeast treated with resveratrol lived an average of 38 generations, as compared to only 19 generations for untreated yeast. Resveratrol also stimulates the production of ATP, the fuel for the production of cellular energy, improves insulin sensitivity and so on.

Lots of other benefits are achieved by resveratrol, including protecting against diet-induced obesity. How much? The article does not specify but I would suggest one glass of organic wine once or twice per week. Or take resveratrol as a supplement. Personally, I take resveratrol in the form of the little purple pills.

- Carol Simontacchi is the owner of the

Island Nutrition Center on Sanibel. She can

be reached at 472-4499 or on the Web at

www.islandnutritioncenter.metaehealth.com.