Toast to Longevity!

Week two at UC Davis Mini-Med School started out with an eminent doctor expertly dancing ala-Michael Jackson before launching into his lecture on sleep and aging. It’s just that kind of ‘medical school’ – a little music, some comedy, lots of laughs and a boat load of information getting passed along – for free – to a few hundred fortunate people.

I am of the viewpoint that this annual series on the Second Half of Life should attract crowds of people in their 30s and 40s – give the younger generation ammunition for the inevitable onset of age (if they’re lucky). However, when one is young, issues such as lack of sleep, heart disease, disabilities and how the body functions over time probably don’t seem as interesting as roaming Second Saturday or sipping nice glasses of Pinot Noir with age mates.

But, on that topic, the red wine drinking crowd will be interested to know a tidbit I learned from the doc who lectured on nutrition during last week’s Mini-med session. Resveratrol, a compound in the skin of grapes that’s present in red wine, appears to afford a number of benefits – at least in non-human lab tests. Among the potential blessings of consuming red wine (white to a much lesser extent) is an effect that mimics caloric restriction and, thus, increases life expectancy. Think French food – lots of butter and fatty indulgences without the high rate of heart disease enjoyed by Americans who eat more and drink less! Dr. Calvin Hirsch, however, quickly pointed out this trend in France is slowly being diminished in relationship to the number of McDonalds opening in the country.

According to research cited by the doctor, Australian Pinot Noir has the highest concentration of Resveraterol. However, to deliver the positive effects (along with the many negatives of drinking far too much alcohol) one must consume a great deal of red wine. (Some people might consider being too drunk to work an acceptable trade off for all that longevity.)

Later in the series we will be hearing more information about Resveratrol that challenges the supremacy of red wine. A U.C. Davis professor and scientist has evidence that a daily beer delivers more of the magic compound than does a glass of red wine.

We also learned that doses of vitamin D, calcium and B12 are essential to continued healthy aging and that CoQ10 also appears to offer some excellent benefits. We got the word on how much of each supplement we need – and also what foods offer good daily doses – blueberries and pomegranate juice; fatty (small) fish, and eating daily meals based on a ‘Mediterranean Diet’ are just part of the formula.

Saturday mornings in a lecture hall at U.C. Davis help me wrap up a week that’s been filled with thinking about almost everything other than personal health and well being. There’s my nonprofit obsession, my writing, websites to create, great ideas to have and quickly discard lest I choose to actually do them and the utter busy-ness of life.

Check out Mini-Med school and think about next year!

Photo: The skin in red grapes is rich in Resveratrol