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    Monday, May 11, 2009

    Rx For Red Wine

    Many studies tout the health benefits of red wine, and Brock University PhD student Ellen Robb wants to find out why

    Scientists have found fermented red grape juice might be able to do everything from keeping your heart healthy to delaying the aging process to preventing prostate cancer.

    The 24-year-old biology student has spent much time studying resveratrol, the active ingredient in red wine that many scientists believe is key to positive health gains. She wants to find out how resveratrol affects cells.

    People have found, 'Oh, (red wine) protects against cardiovascular disease.' But no one really knows why," said Robb, incoming president of the Graduate Student Association.

    We want to be able to go back and look at a cellular level and say, 'This is what's going on, and this is what causing that,' so better treatments can be made and alterations to drugs and anything like that."

    The St. Catharines resident netted $150,000 over three years through the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship program to carry out her research.

    Robb is the first student from Brock to receive the award, which was launched by the federal government in 2008.

    This year, 166 graduate students will receive the scholarship, which is given to the world's leading doctoral students hailing from across Canada and abroad.

    This is going to mean that I can pretty much do anything I want," said Robb, a Niagara-on-the-Lake native.

    I can travel, go to workshops with really very renowned people in the field and go to any conferences. It also means for my supervisor that he doesn't have to pay me. He has more money to do things for other students as well."

    Robb is working under the supervision of Jeff Stuart from the department of biological sciences.

    Robb, who is not really a wine drinker, began looking at resveratrol as a undergraduate student at the urging of Stuart.

    Still, doctors recommend drinking any kind of alcohol, including red wine, in moderation, and some studies have linked fermented grape juice to health problems, such as breast cancer.

    I think because it is something that people drink, and because it's popular culture, it gets a lot of media attention. It can be a little bit overwhelming."

    Encouraging, at least for local wineries, is that Robb has found evidence that Ontario red wines might contain more resveratrol than wines made in other parts of the world.

    Source: MagentaNews.com

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