IN TRAINING

We've all heard of the French paradox - the fact that despite a seemingly unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle the French manage to have lower cardio-vascular events than the norm and that this has been put down to the high red wine consumption. Well now medical science has identified a compound that is described as "exercise in a bottle". The June 2011 study, published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal claims that resveratol found in wine, could slow the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle like insulin resistance and loss of bone mineral density. It also hinders the storage of fat and clogged coronary arteries. The study discovered this when looking at the effects on the body of astronauts in sedentary situations. They experimented with rats and mice and those given doses of resveratol did not demonstrate the negative aspects of lying around and doing nothing all day. One glass of red wine contains 1 mg of resveratol, which while less than dietary supplements is considered to be beneficial.

In other studies, red wine has been seen to assist the body in weight loss by:

• The regulation of ingested fats and ensuring that the fats in the body are polyunsaturated and have lesser effect of accumulation of lipids and ensuring that lipids are of low density;
• Red wine helps the body's cardio-vascular system by placing the body in a condition of higher metabolism where the muscles and organs demand more energy;
• Red wine also provides the body with nutrients like manganese, potassium and calcium which are useful in the functioning and forming of body tissues, cells and bones.

In short, moderate consumption of red wine apes physical exercise which does the above.

I'll have a large glass please.