A Glass of Red Wine May Help You Burn Fat

So many of us are looking to lose weight this year. We’ve purchased the gym memberships, the new gym clothes and running shoes. But beware, nutritional biochemist and former director of the University of Utah Nutrition Clinic told the Huffington Post in 2014, “As a rule of thumb, weight loss is generally 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise.” In particular, one analysis showed that individuals who dieted without exercise for 15 weeks lost 23 pounds, whereas those who exercised without dieting lost only 6 pounds over 21 weeks. Of course, weight loss involves a combination of both exercise and diet, but the science is powerful.

Speaking of dieting, in addition to restricting one’s caloric intake, there are fat-busting foods that are believed to expedite weight loss. According to Health.com, these include whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, green tea, lentils and hot peppers. And a recent study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, suggests that red wine or grapes should be added to this list.

According to Oregon State University biochemist Neil Shay, dark-colored grapes, which can be eaten or consumed in juice or wine, can assist in managing obesity and associated metabolic disorders. In their study, the researchers cultured human fat and liver cells, and exposed the cells to chemicals extracted from Muscadine grapes, a type of red grape found in the southeastern region of the United States.

The researchers determined that one of the chemicals, ellagic acid, significantly slowed the growth of existing fat cells in the culture and decreased the growth rate of new fat cells. Ellagic acid was also shown to increase the metabolism of fatty acids inside of liver cells, a hallmark of metabolic disorders such as fatty liver.

Professor Shay, however, warns that individuals should not read these findings as a “magic bullet,” and furthermore, this study was not tested on humans. Still, it does lend support to a previous study conducted in 2013, again by Shay’s group. Then, mice were placed on a normal diet containing 10 percent fat and another group of mice were placed on a diet with 60 percent fat.

However, when the mice on the high-fat diet were supplemented with grape extracts, their blood sugar levels decreased, contrary to what is ordinarily seen when mice (or humans) consume too much fatty food items. Perhaps this may inspire a glass of red wine or a pack of dark colored grapes during the day.

(Photo courtesy of meg)