The Oregon Commentator Approves This Development
Researchers at Rice University in Houston are working to develop a beer that has the same health benefits as wine:
Taylor Stevenson, a member of the six-student research team and a junior at Rice, said the team is using genetic engineering to create a beer that includes resveratrol, the disease-fighting chemical that’s been found in red wine.
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Wisconsin researchers had noted that adding small doses of resveratrol to the diet of middle-aged mice significantly slows their aging and keeps their hearts healthy. And they added that giving high doses to invertebrates extends their life spans, and high doses also stave off premature death in mice fed a high-fat diet.
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Stevenson said the modified yeast strain could one day be sold to breweries where beverage companies could make their own disease-fighting beer. He noted that the research and development phase of the effort could take five years.
Faster, please?
So much for the Reinheitsgebot….
Reservatrol is not the only thing in Red Wine that can help promote health benefits … Flavonoid phenolics, the other major chemical compound in these types of red-wine studies, have anti-oxidants in them, helping the body naturally fight off diseases. Reservatrol, on the other hand, increases HDL cholesterols (the good kinds), and prevents blood clotting. I’m too lazy to read the study at the moment, but I hope that the Rice research team is proposing to add both of these ingredients, and not just one. While it would be impressive, it would be a half-victory, so to speak, as not all of the benefits of drinking red wine would be emulated.
Just another reason why beer is the solution to all of life’s problems.
And people wonder why I’m studying to become a food scientist.