Could a glass of red be the antidote to an unhealthy diet?

It has been lauded for its life-extending and memory-enhancing properties. Now there is another reason for red-wine lovers to rejoice.

Resveratrol, which occurs naturally in blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, grape skins and consequently in red wine, could help counteract the negative impact of high-fat/high-sugar diets.

While studying the effects of resveratrol in the diet of rhesus monkeys, researchers from Georgetown University hypothesised that a resveratrol supplement would counteract the negative impact of a high-fat/high-sugar diet on the hind leg muscles.

In previous animal studies, resveratrol has already shown to increase the life span of mice and slow the onset of diabetes. In one study, it mirrored the positive effects of aerobic exercise in mice, which were fed a high-fat/high-sugar diet.

For the study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, a control group of rhesus monkeys was fed a healthy diet and another group was fed a high-fat/high-sugar diet, half of which also received a resveratrol supplement and half of which did not. The researchers wanted to know how different parts of the body responded to the benefits of resveratrol — specifically, the muscles in the back of the leg.

Three types of muscles were examined: a ‘slow’ muscle, a ‘fast’ muscle and a ‘mixed’ muscle. The study showed that each muscle responded differently to the diet and to the addition of resveratrol.

The soleus muscle, a large muscle spanning from the knee to the heel, is considered a ‘slow’ muscle used extensively in standing and walking. Of the three lower hind leg muscles analysed, the soleus was the most affected by the high-fat/high-sugar diet and by the resveratrol supplements. This may be partially due to the fact that, on a daily basis, it is used much more than the other two muscles.

In the soleus muscle, myosin, a protein which helps muscles contract and determines its slow or fast properties, shifted from more slow to more fast with a high-fat/high-sugar diet. The addition of resveratrol to the diet counteracted this shift.

The plantaris muscle, a 5–10 cm long muscle along the back of the calf, did not have a negative response to the high-fat/high-sugar diet, but it did have a positive response to the addition of resveratrol, with a fast to slow myosin shift. The third muscle was not affected by the diet or addition of resveratrol.

Lead researcher Dr JP Hyatt said it would be reasonable to expect other slow muscles to respond similarly to the soleus muscle when exposed to a high-fat/high-sugar diet and resveratrol.

“The maintenance or addition of slow characteristics in soleus and plantaris muscles, respectively, implies that these muscles are far more fatigue-resistant than those without resveratrol. Skeletal muscles that are phenotypically slower can sustain longer periods of activity and could contribute to improved physical activity, mobility or stability, especially in elderly individuals,” he said, when asked if this study could be applied to humans.

For those who are tempted to indulge in a high-fat/high-sugar diet with a few glasses of red to cancel it out, the researchers stress that the importance of a healthy diet cannot be overemphasised.