News Max Health – by Nick Tate
A compound found in red wine and dark chocolate that has been widely hailed for its anti-aging properties has been shown to have a potential new health benefit: It may improve people’s memories.
New research out of Germany suggests involving 46 overweight adults found those who took resveratrol supplements for six months had better short-term recall than a similar group of individuals given an inactive placebo.
Those who took the supplement also had more brain-cell connections in regions linked to memory, LiveScience reported.
The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, are the first to show a link between the red wine compound and brain power in overweight adults, said researcher Veronica Witte, a neuroscientist at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany.
“From a clinical point of view, our findings suggest that regular, high-level intake of resveratrol in the elderly may convey protective effects on cognitive functions, a hypothesis that now needs to be evaluated in large-scale clinical trials,” she told Live Science.
In addition to red wine and dark chocolate, resveratrol is also found in red grapes, peanuts, and blueberries. Doctors think the compound mimics the effects of a low-calorie diet on the body and that could partly account for its benefits.
Some studies have shown resveratrol may help combat heart disease, cancer, and diabetes – three of the nation’s top killers.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/Health-News/resveratrol-red-wine-memory/2014/06/06/id/575647#ixzz340EkaxGw
Alert: What Is Your Risk for a Heart Attack? Find Out Now