Resveratrol is a natural, superior antioxidant compound found in red grapes (mainly the skins), Grape seed extract, Red wine, Japanese Knotweed, peanuts and some berries. A new study has also discovered that significant levels of Resveratrol can also be found in cocoa powder and dark chocolate.
Resveratrol ~ Health Benefits:
While Resveratrol has recently been subjected to extensive research and experiments, it will take some time yet to definitely confirm that all the positive long term health benefits of Resveratrol will also affect humans in the same manner as it has in the mice being tested. For years many scientists have been attempting to find out what was responsible for the great French heart disease statistics, when their diets were often much worse than the diets in other countries. They often smoked, drank a lot of coffee, ate a lot of pastries and generally had a diet that was very high in fat. But what else did they do and much more so than other countries? They consumed a very high quantity of dark red wine! So was it the benefits of Red Wine that caused this medical paradox? The initial results of trials would suggest that it was.Resveratrol has also been reported to inhibit the formation of fat,
and in vitro studies show that Resveratrol could have applications for
the treatment of obesity through the suppression of adipogenesis
(production of fat).
According to a study in mice, Resveratrol reduces the number of fat cells and could one day be used to treat or prevent obesity.
“Resveratrol
has anti-obesity properties by exerting its effects directly on the fat
cells,” says Fischer-Posovszky, the lead study author. “Thus,
Resveratrol might help to prevent development of obesity or might be
suited to treating obesity.”
Previous research found that
Resveratrol protected laboratory mice, that were fed a high-calorie diet,
from the health problems of obesity by mimicking the effects of calorie
restriction. The researchers used a strain of human fat cell
precursors, called preadipocytes that develop into mature fat cells in
the body.
They found that Resveratrol inhibited the pre-fat
cells from increasing and prevented them from converting into mature
fat cells, and that Resveratrol also hindered fat storage. Resveratrol
reduced production of certain cytokines (interleukins 6 and 8);
substances that may be linked to the development of obesity related
disorders, such as diabetes and clogged coronary arteries. Resveratrol
also stimulated formation of a protein called adiponectin that is
reduced in obesity. Adiponectin is also known to decrease the risk of heart
attack.
Resveratrol may be the next health wonder drug ~ It also may be the long awaited and best anti-aging product on the market today.