It’s official – drinking red wine really is good for your health.

A natural compound, called resveratrol, found in the liquid – as well as in a variety of fruits and nuts – may enhance exercise training and performance, according to recently published University of Alberta research.

Of course, those small amounts don’t provide the same benefit as high doses.

“We’ve shown that animals that are exercise trained versus animals that are exercise trained and taking resveratrol, the ones taking resveratrol have improved endurance, improved muscle strength and improved cardiac function,” said principal investigator Jason Dyck, director of the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the U of A. “So it appears that resveratrol is a performance enhancing drug.”

It is available over the counter in health food stores, said Dyck, noting many take it because it’s thought to promote lifespan.

But Dyck’s research, published in the Journal of Physiology in May, shows there are other benefits.

“Certainly there are clear advantages for athletes,” he said with a laugh – but that is not his focus.

A 10-week trial expected to start within the next few months will focus on diabetics with heart failure.

“I think resveratrol could help patient populations who want to exercise but are physically incapable,” said Dyck.