Dr. Mark Hyman, author of 'UltraMetabolism', was interviewed by Bethanne Patrick. Here are excerpts of that interview:

Bethanne Patrick: Hi this is Bethanne Patrick for AOL Coaches and today I am speaking with Dr. Mark Hyman, the author of 'UltraMetabolism,' who we are so glad to have as our AOL Wellness Coach. We're here to talk about the health of people with regards to this study about mice and red wine. Tell me a little more about the study, because you do know something about the study itself.

Dr. Mark Hyman: Yeah, there were actually two studies that came out at the same time that were related that came out very close to each other. The first one was done by David Sinclair at Harvard. He was a student of a man named Leonard Guarente from MIT, who discovered this master control gene that regulates aging. And then they found in mice that it was able to switch on all the genes that make us live longer. Now, the good news is that we found a mechanism through which there's really a global effect on increasing longevity. And they use a compound which was like a switch for this gene that makes you live longer. This gene is called a SIRT1 gene, and the way it works is by improving your blood sugar control. That's the good news. The bad news is that in order to get the effect from red wine, from this compound called resveratrol, you'd have to drink 1,500 bottles a day -- which would kill you pretty quick.

Bethanne Patrick: 1,500 bottles a day? Well it would be a nice way to go. So, this does not mean that humans can get rid of weight related health problems like diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure by having a couple of glasses of red wine each day.

Dr. Mark Hyman: Not really, no. This study found that the rats -- I mean the mice -- ate a very high fat diet. They gained weight, but they didn't seem to have the same diseases, like diabetes and heart disease as the rats that had their resveratrol -- which is a red wine extract. So they got fat, but they didn't really have the same consequences from being overweight, and they lived longer, and they were more agile. The next study was even more interesting; they actually used much higher doses -- which is even more than 1,500 bottles a day; I think it's thousands of bottles a day of red wine equivalent. And what they found was by using those really high doses, they were really able to switch this gene on in such a way that the rats didn't gain weight -- that they not only lived longer, but actually had the endurance and fitness level of trained athletes. And they increased their fat burning, they increased their aerobic capacity, they increased coordination and muscle strength, and there were no side effects. So what this tells us is that the mitochondria, these powerful metabolizing factories in our cells that turn food and oxygen into energy, and which I write about in 'UltraMetabolism'. In fact, that's one of the seven keys to 'UltraMetabolism' is understanding the mitochondria and how we turn food into energy, that these are really at the root of aging and disease. You know, I was having a walk with Doctor Guarente who discovered this whole phenomena and David Sinclair was his student. And I said, "What is the real deal here? How is this all controlled?" And he said, "Really all of this is controlled through the mechanism of insulin and sugar." So in a word this whole thing comes down to being able to control our blood sugar effectively, and what are those things that help us do that. Well, we have the tools to help us do that. We don't have to drink thousands of bottles of wed wine, or take 360 capsules of resveratrol every day, or wait for a magic bullet. We need to look at a comprehensive approach that can help us to address the health of your mitochondria which are the basic factories that you need to turn food into energy, which is the source of your metabolism and really at the root of aging.