Wine found to improve memory

Resveratrol, a compound found in red grape skins, has been found to improve memory, according to a new study.

As reported by International Business Times, the study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that people who take resveratrol supplements have better short-term memory.

Conducted by researchers from Charité University in Berlin, the study analysed the effects of resveratrol on overweight people. Before and after the six-month study began, participants took a memory test, gave a blood sample and had their brains scanned.

During the study, 23 volunteers were given 200 milligrams of resveratrol a day, while a further 23 were given a placebo.

The study found that those who took the resveratrol supplements had better short-term recall and more connections among brain areas involved in memory than those who took a placebo.

“The study is the first to show a link between the red wine compound and cognition in overweight adults,” researcher Veronica Witte told IBT.

The blood tests showed reduced levels of a blood sugar marker in the people who took resveratrol, which suggests that sugar metabolism may be linked to brain connectivity and memory.

Last month, a study from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, found that resveratrol’s health benefits are a “myth”.

Monitoring a group of 783 elderly Italians over the course of 16 years, the study found that resveratrol was not associated with reducing inflammation, cardiovascular disease or cancer, or living a longer life.

Nevertheless, the antioxidant is increasingly being used by skincare companies due to its anti-ageing properties.