A study from the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology shows that resveratrol, a compound in grapes and red wine can actually improve muscular endurance and the effectiveness of resveratrol may actually lead to athletes one day taking it for sports performance.
Mice who were fed a high fat diet along with daily resveratrol supplements were only 20% heavier than control mice compared to a huge 60% increase in weight for the mice on the high fat diet without resveratrol.
Furthermore, mice given resveratrol also had increased an increased level of endurance even after taking into account differences in weight. The resveratrol mice were able to run 2 times further on the treadmill compared to other mice with the same diet and no resveratrol supplementation.
Researchers believe that resveratrol boosts muscle endurance by increasing the energy creating components in the cell furnace, which is called the mitochondria.
This research has opened up many intriguing questions regarding resveratrol including diabetes and weight loss as well as perhaps preventing muscle wasting in the elderly. Earlier resveratrol studies have also shown that it can increase the lifespan of many different animals.
Related posts: