Drinking red wine may increase your lifespan
Research found that honey bees given resveratrol - a compound found in red wine - decreased food intake and were able to live longer.
Previous scientific studies on resveratrol show that it lengthens the lifespan of diverse organisms ranging from unicellular yeast to fruit flies and mice.
In a series of experiments, a team of scientists from Arizona State University, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Harvard Medical School, tested the effects of resveratrol on the lifespan, learning ability, and food perception in honey bees.
Their research has confirmed that not only does this compound extend the lifespan of honey bees by 33 to 38 per cent, it also changes the decisions that bees make about food by triggering a "moderation effect" when they eat.
"For the first time, we conducted several tests on the effects of resveratrol by using the honey bee as a model. We were able to confirm that under normal living conditions, resveratrol lengthened lifespan in honey bees," said researcher Brenda Rascon in a statement.
Since resveratrol is an antioxidant, researchers also questioned whether it would be capable of diminishing the damaging effects of "free radicals" - often released during stressful conditions.
Free radicals are believed to cause damage to cells, and have an effect on how we age.
Resveratrol did not, however, prove to extend lives of bees living under stressful conditions.
Yet, since the bees tested with the compound were living longer, researchers asked the next question: What's happening that is causing them to live longer?
"Because what we eat is such an important contributor to our physical health, we looked at the bees' sensitivity to sugar and their willingness to consume it. Bees typically gorge on sugar and while it's the best thing for them, we know that eating too much is not necessarily a good thing," said Gro Amdam, associate professor in ASU's School of Life Sciences and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
The findings are published in the journal 'Aging'.