Red wine might be what you need the most if you are into low-calorie diets. A new study by researchers at the Virginia Tech Carillion Research Institute has concluded that a compound in red wine helps play a key role in preserving muscle fibers as people age. Resveratrol is a compound that has been studied over the years for its health benefits.
While the compound has been found to avert the risks of neurological disorders, heart disease, and diabetes, its ability to restore and strengthen muscle fibers makes it a perfect fit for addressing mobility issues in adults. Likewise, it is advisable to take red wine as one of the ways of bolstering muscle strength and fiber.
As people age, they are expected to lose balance and experience impaired motor coordination due to weakened muscle fiber. It is one of the reasons that most people experience health problems, accidents, and reduced quality of life.
Resveratrol in Red Wine
While Resveratrol is mostly found in red wine, it is not advisable to drink vast amounts as one of the ways to benefit from the compound. That’s because the compound is in such amounts in red wine that one would have to drink lots of it to enjoy its full benefits. Therefore, it is highly advised to take supplements of the compound as one of the ways of benefiting from it.
Researchers at the Virginia Tech Carillion Research Institute discovered the benefits of Resveratrol in carrying out tests on mice. They started by providing three sets of older mice with various types of diets: a basic diet, a diet that limited calories (which is believed to slow down the aging process), and a basic diet with added resveratrol or metformin. Another group of young mice on the basic diet was used as a comparison.
The researchers then studied the neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) – the essential point where nerves connect with muscles – in a leg muscle. They searched for indications of aging, like breaking apart and loss of nerve-muscle connection, known as denervation, where the nerve stops touching the muscle. They also paid attention to the size of the muscle fibers.
The studies focused on how the compound affected mice’s neuromuscular joints. Previous studies discovered that a low-calorie diet and exercise consistently helped protect muscle junctions from aging.
