4 Ways To Reap Red Wine’s Benefits — Without Drinking It
Trust us — you want the resveratrol in your diet! (Photo: Getty Images)
Research has done it again: reiterated just how healthy red wine’s potent ingredient is. The polyphenol resveratrol helps you live longer! It prevents heart disease! It protects your skin! And the latest: It helps your memory.
And while there’s some truth to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of the darker vino, alcohol isn’t always your best bet for a health defense. (Plus, some research suggests that in order to rein in some of resveratrol’s touted effects, you’d have to drink 52 bottles of wine a day, which no health expert would suggest you do.)
So, consider these four ways to sneak resveratrol into your diet — we won’t tell your Malbec-loving friends.
Itadori Tea
(Photo: Getty Images)
This herbal tea popular in Japan and China has traditionally been used to fend off heart disease and strokes. But some research suggests that its high levels of resveratrol make it a perfect replacement for people who don’t drink red wine, says Ilyse Schapiro, a New York-based registered dietitian.
Related: 5 Best Teas For Weight Loss
Peanuts (And Peanut Butter)
(Photo: Aleksandar Cocek/Flickr)
“Boiled peanuts actually contain more reservatrol than peanut butter,” Schapiro tells Yahoo Health. You’ll get less from a PB&J than a glass of wine, but the food is still considered a good source of the antioxidant.
Invest in a Serum
(Photo: Getty Images)
“Antioxidants ingested through drinking do not directly help neutralize free radicals on the skin the way topical resveratrol does,” dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, co-director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery in Washington, DC, tells Yahoo Health. In product form, resveratrol can help your skin. It’s also a natural anti-inflammatory and provides sun protection, says Joanna Vargas, celebrity facialist and founder of the Joanna Vargas Salon and Skincare Collection. (Studies in animals back this up.)
Related: Potential Super-Antioxidant in Coffee May Protect Against Obesity
Supplements
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Before you pop a pill, keep this in mind: Supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA. But Joseph Maroon, MD, author of The Longevity Factor: How Resveratrol and Red Wine Activate Genes for a Longer and Healthier Life, says he doesn’t see a real downside to taking a resveratrol supplement. There are virtually no side effects, he says. It’s better to eat your nutrients than take them in vitamin form, he says, but for people who struggle to incorporate polyphenol-rich foods like berries or dark chocolate into their diets, a supplement could be a good idea. Try 250 or 500 milligrams of ResVitale, available at big-name stores like GNC.
But here’s a reason to consider (moderate consumption of) red wine…
“There are about 500 other polyphenols besides resveratrol in a glass of red wine — and maybe only 1 or 2 milligrams of resveratrol,” Maroon says. So in addition to the other polyphenols, with red wine, you get the “synergism of absorption” which can provide more benefits than one polyphenol on its own. If you’re red wine-wary, consider that one of the lightest pours — Pinot Noir — is also the one richest in resveratrol, says Maroon.
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