Benefits of Resveratrol

Resveratrol, which is found in the skin and seeds of grapes used to make wine might be good for you.

While the news about red wine might sound great if you enjoy red wine in moderation, doctors are wary of encouraging people to drink wine because too much alcohol can have negative effects on the body.

But despite the caution, doctors do agree that something in red wine appears to help your heart. Recent research has indicated resveratrol as the healthy ingredient. 

Some researchers believe that resveratrol might be the key ingredient in red wine that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces "bad" cholesterol and prevents blood clots.

Research in mice given resveratrol has indicated that it might also help protect them from obesity and diabetes, both of which are strong risk factors for heart disease. However, those findings were reported only in mice, not in people. In addition, to achieve the dose of resveratrol used in the mice studies, a person would have to consume 100 to 1,000 bottles of red wine a day.

New research indicates that resveratrol may also be benefincial for people with Alzheimers and those at risk of developing it. It is theorized that free radicals might initiate the process that leads to the disease. The brain is composed mostly of fatty acids, and just as the heart needs to be protected against oxidized fat, so does the brain.

Alzheimer's patients produce an abnormal peptide known as beta-amyloid in their brains. Beta-amyloid provokes oxidative stress, and eventually cells are killed because of the abnormally high levels of free radicals. The killing of brain cells causes the gradual decline in Alzheimer's patients. It has been proven that resveratrol can protect the brain against oxidative stress, and keep cells alive.  

Cancer is, perhaps, the most dynamic area of resveratrol research. Resveratrol is the first natural medicinal to have solid evidence behind it showing that it blocks or stops many stages of cancer. Resveratrol not only prevents cancer, it’s being proposed as an additional treatment

Some companies sell supplements containing resveratrol. However, doctors caution that not enough is known about resveratrol's effects to endorse resveratrol supplements. Research into the potential health benefits of resveratrol is continuing.