Within the last decade, resveratrol—a polyphenol found in red wine—has stormed into the nutritional supplement arena with a reception befitting a superstar. Resveratrol is the key to better heart health and longevity. Resveratrol is a compound that various plants make to fight off bacteria, fungi, and other microbial attackers, or to withstand drought or lack of nutrients. It has been found in red and purple grapes, blueberries, cranberries, mulberries, lingonberries, peanuts, and pistachios. Resveratrol is also abundant in the roots of Japanese knotweed (polygonum cuspidatum), a plant that has become a hard-to-eradicate invader in the United States. Japanese knotweed is the plant source with the highest resveratrol content. Exactly how resveratrol might do all this is still a mystery. One possibility is that it turns on genes that make sirtuins, ancient proteins found in virtually all species. Activating sirtuins kicks off a response that fights disease and prolongs life. The Cell researchers were trying to figure out just how resveratrol might turn on sirtuin genes. Resveratrol will help you live longer and healthier.
So, what is resveratrol and what are the benefits of resveratrol? It’s a flavonoid antioxidant. In plants, it’s naturally synthesized as a defense mechanism to protect against invading fungi. In many laboratory studies, involving cell cultures and animals ranging from fruit flies to mammals, resveratrol supplementation has been found to promote longevity.
Research showing resveratrol helps to keep your blood flowing as it should…
Health Benefits of Resveratrol Studied:
In an Australian study of overweight hypertensive men and post-menopausal women, researchers monitored resveratrol’s effect on the brachial artery, the major artery of the upper arm. Impaired blood flow in this vessel is linked to risk factors such as obesity and hypertension. After consuming of a highly bioactive form of resveratrol, participants demonstrated a significant and rapid increase of blood flow within the hour.
Resveratrol works its heart-support “magic” in two ways. First off, it protects the endothelium, the delicate inner layer of your arteries, from oxidative free radical damage. Second, resveratrol helps to protect the production of nitric oxide, the critical chemical produced by the endothelium that keeps blood vessels optimally dilated.
But heart health is just a tip of the iceberg. There have now been more than 4,400 studies on the benefits of resveratrol to date, showing that it helps to protect your entire body.
The Health Benefits of Resveratrol:
- Protecting the endothelial lining of your arteries—so blood flows as it should.
- Reducing oxidative stress, which prevents premature aging of cells.
- Blocking the production of nf kappa b, a powerful, noxious inflammatory agent.
- Cellular support that improves mental function, and promotes oral/dental health.
- Muscle health, by reducing muscle wasting.
- Heart disease. Resveratrol helps reduce inflammation, prevents the oxidation of LDL "bad" cholesterol, and makes it more difficult for platelets to stick together and form the clots that can lead to a heart attack.
- Resveratrol may protect nerve cells from damage and the buildup of plaque.
- Resveratrol helps prevent insulin resistance, a condition in which the body becomes less sensitive to the effects of the blood sugar-lowering hormone, insulin. Insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes.