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Put Down The Wine: Antioxidant Resveratrol Might Not Be So Beneficial After All

BALTIMORE, MD (CBS) – A glass of red wine a day might not actually keep the doctor away.

The dark-hued vino, which has often been touted for its supposed health benefits, might not be all it's cracked up to be.

According to new research out of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and published in JAMA Internal Medicine, resveratrol – the antioxidant credited with giving wine its anti-aging effects – doesn't actually decrease deaths, cardiovascular disease or cancer.

The study, which focused on Italians who consume high levels of resveratrol, found that the subjects were just as likely to develop cardiovascular disease or cancer as anyone else.

But before you swear off the grapes entirely, Dr. Richard D. Semba, who led the study, clarifies that consuming things like red wine and dark chocolate can reduce inflammation in some people and may still offer heart health benefits.

"It's just that the benefits, if they are there, must come from other polyphenols or substances found in those foodstuffs," he explains on the School of Medicine's website. "These are complex foods, and all we really know from our study is that the benefits are probably not due to resveratrol."

So until more research is done, you can keep sipping that merlot – in moderation, of course.

For more info on the Johns Hopkins study, click here.

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