Drinking red wine can help people live a longer and healthier life, says a research team led by an Indian American scientist.

The researchers found the extract, resveratrol, contained in red grape skin reduced inflammation in humans that led to heart disease, strokes and type 2 diabetes, the Telegraph reported.

Researchers led by Paresh Dandona, chief of endocrinology at Buffalo University, New York, concluded that consuming resveratrol could help reduce the development of type 2 diabetes, ageing, heart disease and strokes, reports the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Dandona, who did his MBBS from New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and his team used participants where half were given a natural supplement containing 40 milligrams of resveratrol while the other volunteers received an identical pill containing no active ingredient.

Participants took the pill once a day for six weeks. Blood samples were collected at the start of the trial and at week one, three and six.

The results showed that resveratrol suppressed molecules known to cause inflammation in the body. It also suppressed compounds in the blood vessels which interfere with the production of insulin, reducing the risk of developing diabetes.

Blood samples from the participants who received the placebo showed no change in these pro-inflammatory markers.