Medical Research News South Africa

More reasons to drink red wine

Red wine may be good for diabetics, according to a new study.

New research suggests that resveratrol, a chemical commonly found in red wine, has the ability to lower blood-sugar levels, but it might also produce certain unpleasant adverse effects. The research was presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 17th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress by Kimberly Martin from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring chemical found in grapes that has been shown to have cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and glucose-lowering properties. Resveratrol has been shown to reduce blood glucose in diabetic rats by several studies.

This new study shows that resveratrol improves glycaemia by stimulating glucose transport in certain tissues, including the skeletal muscle that expresses the insulin-sensitive GLUT4 isoform of glucose transporters.

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