The Amazing Fat Burning Power Of Red Wine

By Kevin DiDonato MS, CES--Level 1 Certified Precision Nutrition and Certified Personal Trainer

Wine lovers…

Be prepared to get the BEST news of your life:

Red wine may actually help you lose weight!  I know, pretty shocking.

But here’s the deal…

Just because red wine—or wine in general—has been shown to aid in weight loss, doesn’t give you the right to go overboard.

In fact, too much wine may erase all the awesome benefits you may be able to get from red wine.

Now, how does red wine aid in weight loss?

Prepare to get your mind blown…

Red Wine, Resveratrol, and Fat Cells

By now, everyone has probably heard the buzz word resveratrol.

Simply put, resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant found in red wine, grapes, and peanuts.  It has been shown to prevent heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and diabetes, just to name a few.

Now, this important molecule may also be beneficial in weight loss as well!

You see, when humans consume red wine (grapes, grape juice, or peanuts), they end up getting a healthy dose of resveratrol.

Once inside the body, resveratrol is converted into another substance, called piceatannol. 

This powerful molecule, which is structurally similar to resveratrol, may act in a completely different way than resveratrol.

In fact, researchers from Purdue University have shown that piceatannol may PREVENT immature fat cells from becoming full-fledged fat cells!

Awesome, right!?

So how does it work?

Immature fat cells are basic fat cells that haven’t fully matured into full-fledged fat cells, which are able to take on excess energy and convert it to fatty acids.

This process, called adipogenesis, takes roughly 10 days to take an immature fat cell through the process of becoming a full-fledged fat cell.

One of the critical components of this process is the influence insulin has on the fat cells through the process.  Insulin, when bound to immature fat cells, helps to control things like gene expression and growth. 

These are necessary steps for creating brand-new fat cells from these immature fat cells (pre-adipocytes).

Now, piceatannol has been shown to delay, if not inhibit, the process of adipogenesis.

Essentially, piceatannol blocks the insulin from binding to the immature fat cells, therefore preventing the process from occurring.

As impressive as this is, future studies on piceatannol will focus on the correct dosage for preventing the accumulation of body fat.

Take Home Message

Although consuming too much alcohol has been shown to have many negative side effects, having a few glasses each week may actually be good for your fat loss.

A new study shows that red wine, and the powerful molecule resveratrol, may have some pretty surprising benefits when it comes to preventing the development of fat cells.

According to researchers from Purdue University, the molecule piceatannol (a compound produced from the conversion of resveratrol) may block insulin signaling during adipogenesis, or the development of immature fat cells to mature fat cells.

Although in its infancy, this research could open a whole new avenue as it pertains to weight loss and the prevention of fat accumulation.