12 | BIGISSUE.COM 05-11 AUGUST 2019
fact/fiction. Old news, truthfully retold
FACTS. CHECKED
It’strue–butbeforeyouupgradethewinecellaron
medicalgrounds,itisworthnotingafewmajorcaveats.
Firstly,it’snothingtodowithalcohol.
Thestoriesallstemmedfromresearchledbythe
UniversityatBuffalo’sresearchassociateprofessorYingXu
andprofessorXiaoxingYinofXuzhouMedicalUniversity
inChina.
Theirfindings,whichwerepublishedonJuly 15 inthe
journalNeuropharmacology, foundthatresveratrolcanhave
antidepressanteffects.
Thecompoundisfoundintheskinandseedsofgrapes
andberries.
Thestudyrevealedthattheenzymephosphodiesterase
4 (PDE4)couldcausedepressionandanxiety-like
behaviourwheninducedbycorticosterone,which
regulatesthebody’sresponsetostress.
However,PDE4lowersa moleculethatsignals
physiologicalchanges–cyclicadenosinemonophosphate
- inthebody,leadingtophysicalalterationsinthebrain.
ButresveratrolinhibitedtheexpressionofPDE4and
academicsbelievethatfindcouldlaythegroundworkfor
theuseofresveratrolinantidepressants.
Thisisallwellandgood,butitshouldbenotedthat
so far, these tests have been run on mice – a fact
thatwasreportedmorewidelyinsomepublications
thanothers.
Forexample,MailOnlinereportedthatthemicewere
giventheequivalentofupto 10 mgofresveratrolper
kilogramoftheirbodyweightandputintocontexthow
muchthatwouldbeforahuman– 350 glassesofredwine
togetthedoseof 700 mgfora 70 kgperson.
IntheDailyStar, thefactthestudywasonmicegetsjust
a singlecursorymention.
Also,TheSun’sheadlineinfersa greaterinvolvement
withalcoholthanthisstudyreallywarranted.
Resveratroljustsohappenstobeinredwineand
thatisthekeyingredientbeingtestedhere–butitcan
alsobefoundinpeanuts,pistachios,grapes,blueberries,
cranberries,andevencocoaanddarkchocolate.
Onthewhole,thereportingofthisstudywasfair
andaccurate.
Butbeforeopeningabottletocelebrate,remember
thatalcoholshouldbeenjoyedinmoderation.
Addictionandtheimpactonmentalhealththatoften
followscanhaveadevastatingeffectonlives.
Sowhilethisisanimportantstudythatcouldlead
tocrucialmedicalbreakthroughs,don’t rush out to the
off-licence to celebrate just yet.
Does a glass of red wine at the end
of the day relieve stress and anxiety?
HOW IT WAS TOLD
Ifyoureachforabottleofredandacorkscrewattheendof
theday,storiesinthepresslastweekabouthowitcouldhelp
battlestressareworthtoasting.
Reportssuggestedthatunwindingwithwinedidjustthe
trickanditwasdowntoacompoundcalledresveratrol.
ThatwasthelinethatalotoftheUKpresswentfor.
MailOnlineledthewaywiththein-depthheadline:“Red
winecompoundopensdoorfornewdepressionandanxiety
treatmentbecauseit‘shutsdownenzymeinthebrainthought
tocausethedisorders’”.Youcouldprobablygetthrougha
bottlewhilereadingthatheadline.
MirrorOnlinewasabitmoresuccinctwith“Redwine
compoundcouldbeusedtotreatanxietyanddepression,study
claims”whiletheDailyStarkeptitshortandsweettoo.They
optedfor:“Aningredientinredwinecouldhelprelievestress,
researchshows”.
TheSun,however,choseadifferentline.Theysteeredaway
fromthesciencewiththeirheader,goingfor:“BOTTOMSUP!
HavingaglassofredwineafteraharddayreallyDOESrelieve
stressandanxiety,sayscientists”.
Itsoundstoogoodtobetrue–butcanwineloversdrink in
the news or should they tell the press to put a cork in it?
Illustration:Miles Cole
REPEATING
WORTH
12%
of British men and
8%
ofBritishwomen
drankalcohol
onatleastfivedays
intheweek
in 2017
Britsdrink
5.1per
centofthe
world’s wine
Thatamountedto
1.29MILLION
litres in 2017
Stats:
Drinkawar
e; Th
e Win
e Institut
e