Scarcely a month goes by when some new benefit of red wine isn't announced. The news is that it protects men against prostate cancer.

Scientists have long observed that drinking red wine seems to prolong life. The first clue was what's known as "the French paradox." Studies in the 1960s and 1970s revealed that despite consuming a high-fat diet—all those cheeses and foie gras—the French have much lower rates of death from heart disease than Americans do. Something about red wine protects against heart disease.

Scientists discovered that red wine has powerful effects on the brain, too. It protects against Alzheimer's disease, and it generally staves off mental decline.

Until now, no one has known how red wine protects brain, heart and other organs of the body. It's definitely not the alcohol, as alcohol is in its own right a metabolic toxin, most especially through its chief metabolite, acetaldehyde; liver damage is just part of the danger it poses. Besides, if it were the alcohol, white wine would have as much beneficial effect as red wine—but that's not the case.

By the early 1990s, it was becoming clear that something relatively unique to red wine provided significant heart protection, and a hunt began for the active ingredient. The major difference between red wine and white wine is grape skins. In the making of white wine, only the pressed juice of the grapes is fermented. But in the making of red wine, the juice of the grapes is allowed to ferment with the skins, from which it gets its color.

The pigment molecules of plants are typically molecules known as flavonoids. And many of them have powerful biological effects. They can make blood less sticky and thus less likely to form clots, and they can inhibit cancer growth. They've also been found far more powerful than Vitamin E in keeping blood fats like cholesterol from getting oxidized and contributing to atherosclerosis.

Lots of fruits and vegetables, however, contain flavonoids. But red grapes have one that few other plants have, called resveratrol. Aside from red grapes, only peanuts, blueberries, and some species of pine trees are known to produce this particular antioxidant.

Lab studies of resveratrol have demonstrated an impressive list of health benefits. It keeps blood from clotting and plugging up arteries, it lowers blood pressure, and it prevents cancer. It's even been shown to promote the formation of new connections between brain cells—and the more connections, the more memory remains intact as you age.

The health benefits of resveratrol consumption turn out to be a lucky accident. Grapes actually produce resveratrol in order to defend themselves against invasion by fungus.

It may be that one day soon you can buy resveratrol-enhanced wine or grape juice. Scientists at the Salk Institute in San Diego discovered how to boost the enzyme in grapes that is responsible for creating resveratrol.

In the meantime, what protects plants can also protect you. Here's to resveratrol.

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