A glass a day may keep the doctor away as resveratrol, a component of wine, becomes a key elixir to anti-aging and longer life.
What is resveratrol? According to MedicineNet.com: “Resveratrol is an antioxidant present in many plants. (It) is a type of polyphenol called a phytoalexin, a class of compounds produced as part of a plant's defense system against disease, and it is produced in the plant in response to an invading fungus, stress, injury, infection, or ultraviolet irradiation."
Resveratrol can be found in many foods, the best known being red wine, as well as grapes, raspberries, peanuts, and numerous other plants.
Basically, resveratrol is the latest breakthrough in anti-aging nutrition. The antioxidant is even thought to be the solution to "The French Paradox," that is, why the French live long despite having a diet traditionally high in fat.
In addition to working as an antioxidant, resveratrol has many other helpful properties as well, including slowing the growth of cancer, at least in laboratory settings. It may also reduce inflammation, thereby acting as a protective agent against heart disease.
Not only may resveratrol fight against the big killers, but it could also be a great aid in the battle of the bulge. In an article by Kathleen Doheny found on WebMd, researchers used a laboratory setting to test the effect of resveratrol on fat cells.
Martin Wabitsch, MD, PhD, a researcher from the University of Ulm in Germany, exposed pre-fat cells called pre-adipocytes, from increasing and from converting into mature fat cells, by treating them with resveratrol.
"Forty hours is the normal doubling time [of pre-fat cells]," Wabitsch says. "At 48 hours, the pre-fat cells in the control dish had more than doubled. In the resveratrol dish, the number of pre-fat cells had decreased by 40% to 45%," he tells WebMD.
The quantity of resveratrol used in laboratory studies is usually much higher than the amount found in foods. While eating a diet high in grapes, raspberries, peanuts and enjoying a glass of red wine provides other nutrients besides resveratrol, resveratrol supplements may help you maximize your intake.
According to an article on resveratrol supplements found on WebMd, most resveratrol capsules sold in the U.S. contain extracts from the Japanese and Chinese knotweed plant, Polygonum cuspidatum. Other resveratrol supplements are made from red wine or red grape extracts. Like other supplements, resveratrol is not regulated by the FDA, so it is important to be cautious in your intake.
While resveratrol is likely a very beneficial health supplement, further study is still needed to ensure safety.
What is resveratrol? According to MedicineNet.com: “Resveratrol is an antioxidant present in many plants. (It) is a type of polyphenol called a phytoalexin, a class of compounds produced as part of a plant's defense system against disease, and it is produced in the plant in response to an invading fungus, stress, injury, infection, or ultraviolet irradiation."
Resveratrol can be found in many foods, the best known being red wine, as well as grapes, raspberries, peanuts, and numerous other plants.
Basically, resveratrol is the latest breakthrough in anti-aging nutrition. The antioxidant is even thought to be the solution to "The French Paradox," that is, why the French live long despite having a diet traditionally high in fat.
In addition to working as an antioxidant, resveratrol has many other helpful properties as well, including slowing the growth of cancer, at least in laboratory settings. It may also reduce inflammation, thereby acting as a protective agent against heart disease.
Not only may resveratrol fight against the big killers, but it could also be a great aid in the battle of the bulge. In an article by Kathleen Doheny found on WebMd, researchers used a laboratory setting to test the effect of resveratrol on fat cells.
Martin Wabitsch, MD, PhD, a researcher from the University of Ulm in Germany, exposed pre-fat cells called pre-adipocytes, from increasing and from converting into mature fat cells, by treating them with resveratrol.
"Forty hours is the normal doubling time [of pre-fat cells]," Wabitsch says. "At 48 hours, the pre-fat cells in the control dish had more than doubled. In the resveratrol dish, the number of pre-fat cells had decreased by 40% to 45%," he tells WebMD.
The quantity of resveratrol used in laboratory studies is usually much higher than the amount found in foods. While eating a diet high in grapes, raspberries, peanuts and enjoying a glass of red wine provides other nutrients besides resveratrol, resveratrol supplements may help you maximize your intake.
According to an article on resveratrol supplements found on WebMd, most resveratrol capsules sold in the U.S. contain extracts from the Japanese and Chinese knotweed plant, Polygonum cuspidatum. Other resveratrol supplements are made from red wine or red grape extracts. Like other supplements, resveratrol is not regulated by the FDA, so it is important to be cautious in your intake.
While resveratrol is likely a very beneficial health supplement, further study is still needed to ensure safety.
