You will (if you haven’t already) hear about a new study showing an extremely beneficial effect of red wine resveratrol on the health of mice. Researchers participating in a study run by the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Medicine found that high does of resveratrol lowered the rate of diabetes, liver-problems and other fat-related illnesses.

Resveratrol has been shown to have beneficial health effects before. What makes this study, published in the journal Nature (subscription required - $30 to see the article alone), is that the ingredient reversed the negative effects of what was the equivalent of a fast food diet. The obese mouse is living past the median age and remains active and agile. In other words, resveratrol provided the beneficial effects of cutting calories without the mouse being fed less calories.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, there’s a caveat. No one knows if the same benefits apply to humans. Current resveratrol supplements are not regulated and may not be the correct dosage. One of the researchers interested in the ingredient is being funded by a pharmaceutical company that wants to get a FDA-approved resveratrol supplement on the market. It will likely be years before we know whether resveratrol is a miracle supplement for humans; so ignore the marketing hype that is likely to come following this study.

We’re hopeful, but still believe a balanced healthy diet with exercise is the remains the best path to a long life. Nonetheless, we’ll probably uncork a bottle tonight and have drink to celebrate the study’s success.