Information about Resveratrol

Worldwide interest in Resveratrol really took off when something called ‘The French Paradox’ became a talking point. This paradox, simply put, asks why the French nation can have a diet with one of the highest fat content bases on the world, and still not have the high levels of heart disease encountered in other parts of the world.

Research has shown that Resveratrol helps the body deal with a high fat content in a couple of ways. The first way in which it does this is by helping the liver to break down fat. This enables the body to manage the high fat intake better.

And Resveratrol is present in the one liquid that the French people are very good at drinking. Red wine does contain Resveratrol, this is a fact. Since this is the case, it quite logically follows that this is one of the key reasons for the French Paradox.

The amount of Resveratrol in red wine varies from bottle to bottle. Usually, one can expect to find between 2mg and 4mg in each bottle. Dietary and medical supplements that contain Resveratrol typically contain a lot more, with some supplements containing up to about 100mg of the substance.

Resveratrol and weight loss

General medical advice dictates that taking in Resveratrol will help you best when you are not eating a massive amount of food. This kind of advice comes about because while the French eat a high fat diet, they, as a people, do not eat to excess. The French eat fresh food and sometimes a lot of it is organic, so Resveratrol works best with a healthy diet.

Research in the past has only backed up the general theory that Resveratrol can actually help with weight management. Obviously, a good diet does help overall, as does an accompanying exercise plan. However, research with mice showed that introducing Resveratrol into their system helped directly with their dietary issues. The nice were fed a high calorie diet, and then, as the study progressed, were given some Resveratrol. The result was that the mice were effectively protected from the negative and harmful effects of weight gain and obesity.

Problems such as diabetes and clogged arteries were prevented by the Resveratrol that the mice were given. This again helps to explain the French Paradox.

The upshot is that Resveratrol has a direct effect on fat cells. It effectively attacks them, therefore reducing the fat levels in the body, and helping in a considerable way with weight loss. Arteries are de-clogged and diabetes does not develop. In other words, scientific studies have proven that Resveratrol does go some way to reducing obesity and its damaging effects.

Exercise Endurance

More work was done on mice in the way of exercise endurance tests. This area is also recognised as one that Resveratrol has an impact upon. Mice in tests were observed after having a certain amount of Resveratrol. Tests acknowledged that a typical laboratory mouse can run for a round a kilometre on a treadmill before it collapses from exhaustion. Resveratrol improves this level of endurance considerably.
French scientists, knowing this, supplemented the diet of lab mice with up to 400mg of Resveratrol. They found that the mice that had the Resveratrol boost were able to run up to twice as far as those who did not receive the supplement.

The Resveratrol boosted mice were also found to have a lower heart rate, and muscles that were highly charged as regards energy levels, both conditions that highly trained human athletes present with.

Resveratrol and Aging

It has also been proven, again with lab mice, that Resveratrol can directly affect life span. In fact, it was found that the substance increased the life span of certain mice by up to 30%.

Overall, although tests on humans are far from comprehensive, it is clear to see that Resveratrol definitely has an impact on health, whether it is the health of mice or humans. If the French can avoid heart disease by copious drinking of red wine, and mice can present like highly trained athletes, there has to be a bright future for the substance in the general healthcare of human beings.