Resveratrol, what is it and what can it do to increase your health?
You may have heard of resveratrol lately in the news. It’s an ingredient found in the skins of grapes, especially in temperate climates like France. For years scientists have been studying the French and their ability to live longer, healthier lives. This appears to be because of the amount of wine they drink throughout their lives, which also contains the wonder antioxidant resveratrol. Many people are familiar with the term, but not quite sure what it can help do for them with moderate supplemental use.
The antioxidant comes in many types, for both males and females. Ranging from capsules, tablets and even skin creams it can help increase blood flow, repair damaged cells from skin cancers and even increase your life span with a balanced diet and regular exercise plan. The new wonder drug has been featured on many international news programs. That’s because this supplement isn’t only fiction, it does actually work and is backed by some big names, both in and out of Hollywood.
Scientists aren’t completely sure why resveratrol works, or even how it works, but it has been shown to cause drastic changes, for the better, in laboratory tests involving mice. The potent formulas found in many of the products offered today that contain this ingredient have helped mice reduce the damage done by skin cancers, and lengthened their life spans. We know that mice are very similar to humans in genetic makeup, only a few DNA strands away so the link to humans is a near fact. Combine this with the fact that the people of France do indeed tend to live longer, all while eating rich diets full of fats and drink lots of wine and one has to wonder what it could be.
This relatively new antioxidant is the center of attention for all the leading health magazines, tv networks and radio programs. All of them with fascinating accounts of how it has helped various people around the country. Just turn on your TV or Radio and you’ll hear the results for yourself. The reason that resveratrol is so popular is because more and more people are enjoying the effects it causes for them and their health, and realizing that this isn’t some snake oil product like many of the other pills or capsules you see available. Products containing resveratrol, will actually work if you follow the directions and already lead a somewhat healthy lifestyle, which we almost all do.
Whether you like to drink copious amounts of red wine, or take the simple route as many Americans are doing lately and ingest this new wonder drug resveratrol through easy supplements to your regular diet, you will be better off and live a healthier, better life. This of course is all because of some antioxidants found in grape skins, but not green grapes only red grapes. So, if you’re looking for wine, make sure it’s of the red variety. If not, why not try one of the other products available that are much cheaper and better for your system without the unnecessary hangovers the next day.
Drinking a glass of red wine everyday can help keep the doctor away longer than you think
Do you think that red wine could help save your life, or to be a little more calm about that, deliver healthy benefits? It’s something that we’ve all seen in and around the media for the past little while, and increasingly more research is suggesting it’s actually quite healthy to drink wine in moderation, often even better than not drinking it period. Wow, that’s interesting news to hear isn’t it?
For thousands and thousands of years, people have been drinking wines and came to learn about their various healthy properties, and benefits that it has to offer. Wine was a very popular beverage in the ancient Greek and Romans book and was even prescribed by the leading physicians of the day to help cure gastric and digestive ailments. It’s curious to note that during that time many reviews about wines were not about their taste, but rather about the medicinal benefits they carried.
The long rooted tradition of people seeing wines as being healthy nearly disappeared in the late 1800’s with the prevalence of prohibition and peoples thoughts towards alcohol. The medicinal benefits of the beverage shortly were overshadowed by potential harm from abuse. Of course this eventually went away, and now we’re back to responsibly enjoying red wine.
Fast forward to approximately 20 years ago when the hugely popular “French Paradox” became a sensation in the world media. This helped bring the benefits of red wine to the center stage again with some science behind it. Because the French eat rich diets with high cholesterol they should have been suffering from higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Instead the scientists noted that they were indeed not suffering from increased disease rates, and per capita had remarkably lower rates than the rest of the world.
The scientists had a tough time finding a link and then came the idea about red wine being the missing link to their superb health and long life. Red wine contains something called resveratrol, which is a plant hormone that can help protect humans against cancers, cardiovascular diseases and others. The researchers put one and one together and had their answer as to why the French were living so long, while eating all the “wrong foods” as it were.
In Canada there has even been a recent discussion by respected doctors like Dr. Richard Beliveau, who is a director of the Charles-Bruneau Cancerology Centre at Montreal’s St. Justine Hospital. Beliveau is an avid speaker on the topic of red wine, and resveratrol and the benefits to people. His argument is that red wine is better for you than white wine is, and with that even moderate red wine consumption (2 to 4 120mL for men, or 1 or 2 for women) will drastically lower the risk of dying from various cancers and other diseases.
Why specific about red wine? It’s because it contains the highest concentration of resveratrol than anything else. It’s also interesting to note that wines made from grapes that hail from cooler areas of the world tend to contain more resveratrol than grapes grown in warmer climates. With some wines from France, Ontario, and other cooler regions of the planet available for sale for less than 15$ it’s an easy choice to living your life longer.
C’est bien! Drinking to your health with red wine.
People have long wondered why the French tend to live longer and healthier lives than many of us over in North America. For a long time scientists and researchers have been noticing that the French, who consume rather large amounts of red wine, even with diets high in saturated fats live very long and healthy lives. Only recently has it become apparent that this is mainly because of the red wine that is used often by all ranges of the population. Red wine is made from grapes, grapes have high concentrations of the antioxidant resveratrol contained within them.
These antioxidants could help with preventing heart diseases in humans by increasing the levels of the good cholesterol that we need. Coupled with that, the levels seen within grape skins can even aide in repairing and keeping your arteries clean and clear. Over time, this helps blood flow to the body and circulation which helps maintain a healthy vibrant lifestyle. Overall this will help us live longer and more fun lives.
While drinking massive amounts of red wine may seem like a good idea, it’s obviously not possible because of the cost, and the adverse health effects all that alcohol will have on you. Doctors wouldn’t advise people to drink copious amounts of wine either, they are just noting the benefits of some of the ingredients in red wine. Doctors however do agree that red wine appears to have something to do with this. They aren’t sure, but they think that these benefits come from the antioxidants inside of the grape skins, one of the key ones being resveratrol.
These antioxidants come in two differing types: flavonoids and nonflavonoids. Flavonoids are found in multiple types of foods, including grape juice, apples, onions, tea, cocoa and oranges. Some other alcohols also contain these, like white wine and beer. These contain much smaller amounts than what red wine contains though. Nonflavonoids are special and found only in red wine. They are particularly interesting because they seem to help prevent fatty deposits blocking arteries. We should note though, that any study done has been done on mice, not humans. It is only theorized that the same effects will benefit us. That said, many studies have been performed on mice and translated near seamlessly to humans and provided the same benefits.
With the latest advances in science, we can not enjoy all the benefits of resveratrol in an easy to swallow pill format. These resveratrol supplements are highly concentrated forms of the wonder antioxidants and will greatly improve your overall health just once a day.