A brief look at the media today reveals a growing obsession with this. Not only do we want to look good today, we want to stay young, or at the very least looking young. Gone are the days of growing old gracefully. Most people fight growing old; body, mind, and soul.

Women spend millions of dollars annually on products that promise to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and even more every year opt for dangerous and costly plastic surgery to erase the natural progression of aging on their faces and bodies.

Seduced by pictures in magazines of airbrushed models that appear youthful and flawless youth in our society are likewise becoming obsessed with looks. Is this healthy? Everyone will have their own opinion on that; the facts indicate that more and more people every year are searching for that ‘fountain of youth.’

A quick search on Google for ‘how to look young’ comes back with 13,800,000 results! That’s a lot of information about how to turn back the clock on your looks.

From creams and makeup tricks to surgery and face yoga everyone has a tip to make you look younger.

Resveratrol and Anti-aging: Youth in a Pill?

In a 60 Minutes episode back in January 2009, Morley Safer did a report entitled “Fountain of Youth in a Wine Rx?” that reviewed the impact of resveratrol on anti-aging. And while the jury remains out on whether this powerful chemical compound found in the skin of red grapes is really a fountain of youth more and more people are using it for just this.

Resveratrol is loaded with antioxidants, some that research on animals shows to be particularly helpful in fighting aging. But it’s not just about looks when it comes to resveratrol to fight aging.

Studies on animals showed that their lifespan was increased as well as their quality of life when regularly given resveratrol as compared to their counterparts not given resveratrol.

When these animals (mostly rats and mice) did die, the examination of internal organs revealed even more. The mice who took resveratrol not only lived longer but upon autopsy had healthier, more youthful organs than those mice who didn’t take the resveratrol.

Studies on resveratrol as an anti-aging compound are in their infancy. However, these studies indicate that this could be a powerful player in the fight against aging. For now it’s not recommended to overindulge but continue to enjoy your glass of red wine, one of the richest sources of resveratrol.

More specifically this chemical compound is a phytoalexin that acts as a natural antibiotic for plants. When the plant is attacked by fungi or other invasive disease, resveratrol arrives in high concentrations fighting off the unwanted invader. Since the discovery of resveratrol scientists and researchers want to learn what else this potent compound can do. The question was posed: will resveratrol fight cancer?

With mounds of research piling up about the amazing health benefits of resveratrol for heart health, weight loss, and anti-aging it inevitably turned to one of our world’s biggest battles; the fight against cancer. Doctors, researchers, and scientists began to wonder if this discovery could indeed help the body to naturally fight off cancer.

What the Research Reveals

As you can imagine the research into resveratrol and cancer is complicated and sometimes confusing. However despite some conflicts within the research it seems to be emerging that there is hope that resveratrol can help the body fight cancer – at least some forms of cancer.

2 Ways Resveratrol May Fight Cancer

1. Acting as a free radical fighter
2. Fighting tumor growth

As a free radical fighter and antioxidant resveratrol has been shown to fight cancer in certain clinical studies. In one study on pancreatic cancer led by Dr. Paul Okunieff the chief of Radiation Oncology at James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center use of resveratrol was proven to be very effective.

In his groundbreaking study Okunieff reported that resveratrol traveled directly to the deadly cancer cells’ core, mitochondria, and crippled and destroyed it.

Attacking the mitochondria in any cancer treatment program is a vital goal as the mitochondria actually has its own DNA that can provide a constant supply of energy to the cancer cells. When you destroy the mitochondria you destroy the energy supply, in theory, the cancer is destroyed too.  This is a huge step in the right direction to beat the disease.

Resveratrol Found Effective in Fighting Certain Cancers

In another study reviewing the impact of resveratrol on cancer in numerous studies, researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute found that resveratrol could help the body in many ways. They found resveratrol particularly helpful in fighting certain types of cancers like breast, prostate, stomach, colon, pancreatic, and thyroid. 

To date most of the studies on resveratrol and the fight against cancer have focused on animals, not humans. There are currently studies under way to test the impact of resveratrol on humans. For now, doctors recommend using caution when opting for resveratrol supplements.

Although there have been no serious side effects found, the research into resveratrol is in its infancy.

This wasn’t the first time that 60 Minutes had visited the benefits of red wine. Eighteen years earlier the program had investigated what is referred to as The French Paradox.

The French Paradox is what is referred to as the fact that the French as a culture eat high fat foods, drink red wine frequently, and as compared to Americans have a low rate of heart disease (as well as obesity.) At that time researchers theorized that it must be something in the red wine that caused or rather prevented this.

Fast forward eighteen years. With it’s latest investigation into red wine with “Fountain of Youth in a Wine Rx?” once again 60 Minutes set out to discover if what they thought almost two decades prior could after all be attributed to resveratrol in red wines.

“Fountain of Youth in a Wine Rx?” Discovering Resveratrol

What was revealed in the show to Morley Safer by researchers was that resveratrol indeed was believed to be linked to the low rates of heart disease and other lifestyle diseases in the French  -and in fact anyone with a regular, yet not excessive, wine consumption.

In fact, the report stated that resveratrol in very high concentrations may indeed be able to extend the life span by fighting off a variety of age related conditions.

One of the primary participants in the show with Safer was Dr. Christopher Westphal. He was in hopes of pioneering a pill with high concentrations of resveratrol that could stall many of the diseases many of us inevitably seem to encounter at the ages of 50, 60, and 70.

When Westphal met Harvard biochemist David Sinclair he found that Sinclair had been able to extend life in yeast. Westphal explained that although this was still amazing, yeast was one thing, humans were yet another.

The pair soon formed Sitris, a Cambridge Massachusetts research company focusing on creating a drug with resveratrol to activate in humans what Sinclair activated in yeast – a prolonged life span.

And finally what they so desired came to be; a pill that mimics what resveratrol from wine and certain foods do. The pill contains close to the amount of resveratrol found in 1,000 bottles of red wine.

Westphal and Sinclair continued to pioneer a resveratrol drug that can take years off the life. Their company, Sirtris was purchased by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline for almost three quarters of a billion dollars.

If you’ve ever been to France you realize quickly that the natives of this beautiful country spend a lot of time doing many of the things that make our lives abundant. They eat unbelievably delicious, high calories foods; spend hours and hours with family and friends chatting while they indulge in the best wines with their rich foods – and don’t seem to gain a pound.

After a few days in France you begin to realize there just aren’t many fat or obese people there. Then you wonder why? It seems they’re breaking all the rules for losing weight yet they remain slim, happy, and healthy.

A closer look at the culture also reveals their hearts are healthy too. Much healthier than Americans who also consume high calorie diets. So what’s going on here? And more importantly how can we get in on it?

The Answers in the Glass (of Red Wine that is)

It’s recently coming into light that the reason why the French don’t gain as much weight from eating fatty foods is the wine they consume with their meals.

Red wine contains a chemical compound called resveratrol that has been recently considered to fight weight gain. In fact, animal studies are showing just that.

In recent studies it was shown that when mice ate a high calorie meal with resveratrol the fat cells didn’t grow like they did in the mice who ate the same high fat meal minus the resveratrol.

Resveratrol supplements are popping up all over the place and claim to help people lose weight. Try them if you want or simply consider eating foods that are high in resveratrol like red wines.

The French simply live life as they have for thousands of years. They eat what they want, exercise not at the gym but by walking to local markets to buy fresh foods, and drink red wine (not take supplements for their nutrients as many Americans do.) They enjoy their meals, eat smaller portions, and don’t rush through life. It may be worthwhile to follow their lead with food, wine, and health.

With much lower obesity rates as well as heart disease rates, they are certainly on to something most Westerners are missing.

There’s no denying that drinking red wine is an experience that tantalizes just about all of the senses. From the aroma to the taste, red wine invites the drinker to indulge in relaxation and pleasure. But it’s not just about the senses. Red wine has recently gained attention as a potent source of important nutrients for the body.

Red Wine for Health

Recently red wine has gained widespread attention for its vital health benefits. Most of these benefits have to do with the chemical compound, resveratrol, found abundantly in red wine.

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring phytoalexin found in red wine, the skin of grapes used to make wine as well as certain berries and peanuts.

However, many proponents of red wine as a source of resveratrol claim that the way wine is consumed is particularly helpful in the absorption of resveratrol.

Resveratrol is best absorbed through the mouth and the traditional savoring and swirling of red wine prior to swallowing is when the body has the opportunity to do the best absorption.

Although research on the health benefits of red wine is in its infancy, there do seem to be some common findings in regards to red wine, resveratrol, and health benefits.

4 Ways Red Wine Boosts Health

1. Heart Health
2. Anti-aging
3. Weight loss
4. Fights free radical damage

Red wine, or more accurately the resveratrol in red wine, helps the heart in a few ways. Studies have been showing that it can lower bad cholesterol (LDL) while increasing good cholesterol (HDL) in the body.

Additionally, resveratrol is shown to fight inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation in the body can contribute to heart disease and many other lifestyle diseases.

Red wine also is rich in antioxidants, specifically polyphenols, which have been found to be helpful in keeping the lining of the heart and blood vessels healthy.  

These antioxidants are also the components in red wine that help to fight aging and also free radical damage.

Red Wine for Weight Loss?

Recently many studies have focused on red wine, resveratrol and weight loss. In studies on animals, it has been shown that resveratrol combats the growth of fat cells. This is now being applied to weight loss in humans.

Some people swear by resveratrol to help them eat a calorie high diet and not gain weight. However, researchers warn that it’s too early and there’s not enough research on this relation between weight loss and resveratrol.

For now it’s a good idea to eat a variety of fruits and veggies that offer an abundance of different nutrients to the body. If you do drink, consider red wine for a potent source of resveratrol. If you don’t try peanuts, or berries for the same.

In fact, red wine and resveratrol have gained widespread attention in the media for extending life span, fighting aging, and even thwarting cancers and heart disease. More recently, resveratrol has been cited for being a significant aid in weight loss.

Studies and new research is being reported and conducted often to test these claims and hopefully find a chemical compound that can be scientifically proven that has all of these wonderful, life enhancing properties.

Resveratrol Sources: Making the Most of Your Diet

Although since CBS’s 60 Minutes anchor Morley Safer aired their special about resveratrol, “Fountain of Youth in a Wine Rx?” many people who have been searching for potent sources of resveratrol think that red wine is the best source, it’s not true.

Yes, red wine is an excellent source of resveratrol and other antioxidants but are there more abundant sources for resveratrol? And what about the person who doesn’t drink alcohol but wants resveratrol in their diets too?

Resveratrol can be found in a variety of different forms of plant life. The most abundant source for resveratrol may be quite a surprise to you. Peanuts are higher in resveratrol than red wine and many other resveratrol sources.

Peanuts are often thought to be unhealthy and high in fat but recent research has shown that people who consume peanuts on a regular basis are actually leaner in general.

Resveratrol is best absorbed through the mouth so many think that drinking red wine is the best way to actually gain the most benefits from the resveratrol. When many people drink red wines they do so slowly. Smelling, sipping, and holding it in their mouths for a few moments. This is when the resveratrol will be able to be best absorbed.  And with peanuts also being a rich source, consider munching on peanuts with your red wine for a double shot of resveratrol.

Other resveratrol sources include Japanese knotweed and many berries.

Berries as Resveratrol Sources:

• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Mulberries

Each of these berries is an excellent source of resveratrol and other important nutrients.

If you want to up your intake of resveratrol, consider drinking a good red wine with dinner, adding berries to your breakfast cereal, your yogurt or salad. And of course, select peanuts for an ‘on the go’ snack. They’re easy to eat on the run, rich in good fats, and full of vital resveratrol.

If you watch or listen to any type of news media you can’t help but have noticed a recent focus on resveratrol. Resveratrol, commonly associated with red wine and grapes, is a chemical compound that is found naturally in plants has come into wide attention in the West over the past decade or so.

Although resveratrol is a relative newcomer to the Western health scene it’s been being used in China and other Eastern countries widely since the 1980’s to aid in health issues.

Resveratrol is found in red wine, the skin of grapes used to produce wine, as well as many types of berries. From raspberries to mulberries resveratrol can even be found in peanuts and many other berries.

For human health, resveratrol is claimed by many as well as indicated by animal research to offer significant health benefits. These benefits include fighting aging and cancers through its antioxidant content that combats free radical damage. Free radical damage or oxidation is a known cause of not only aging, but numerous lifestyle diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Heart disease is another health issue that many claim resveratrol can play a significant role in fighting. In animal studies resveratrol has been shown to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol levels (HDL.) Both contributing factors to heart disease.

You may know what resveratrol does for the human body but do you know what role it plays in its source, plant life? Plants rely on resveratrol for survival too. In fact, the role resveratrol plays in plants is similar to what researchers are finding it contributes to human life as well.

Resveratrol in Plant Life

Resveratrol is a chemical compound found abundantly in certain plants. It is called a phytoalexin. These phytoalexin are antimicrobial substances found to occur naturally in plants as a response to an invasive pathogen particularly fungi. In short, phytoalexin are a plants own, innate antibiotics that are released in abundance and found in concentrated areas where fungal invasive infections are found in the plant itself.

The theory of phytoalexins and their role in plant life first came to light in 1940 and later identified in cabbage. Since then they have been found in other cruciferous plant life.

Resveratrol is one of the most important defenses a plant has against disease. It has an intricate system of defense against these invaders and resveratrol is one of the most vital.

Researchers, scientists, and doctors are now trying to determine if this potent chemical compound can help the human body to fight invasive diseases in the same way it helps a plant to survive. Stay tuned!

There’s just no denying it, our society is virtually obsessed with finding the fountain of youth – or at the very least looking young. Fighting aging has been a desire of many for thousands of years but today we have technology to help us on this road.

When it comes to looking young there are medical treatments like plastic surgery that many choose. Still others stick to the most natural methods available such as eating healthy, exercising, and keeping their stress levels low.

Healthy eating is key not just in how young you look but to how young you feel. Providing the body with all the vitamins and nutrients it needs allows you to live in a body that moves freely and feels good well into your twilight years. The powerful compound resveratrol could play in important role in this.

 What is Resveratrol?

Resveratrol gained media attention over the past decade for its role in heart health. As more studies on resveratrol were revealed it became touted as the new anti-aging cure. What’s all the hype about?

Resveratrol is mainly associated with red wine. There were many who read the articles on resveratrol hoping this would be their reason to indulge in a glass or two every night. (And that’s not such a bad idea.)

Although it is found in red wine, resveratrol is also found in other foods as well.

Resveratrol Found In:

• Red wine
• Skins of grapes
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Mulberries
• Peanuts
• Japanese Knotweed

Resveratrol is a chemical compound found naturally in these plants. It is a polyphenol, particularly a flavonoid found abundantly in red wine.

Resveratrol and Anti-Aging

The role that resveratrol plays in anti-aging has mostly to do with its antioxidants and how they impact the body. Antioxidants have been shown to combat free radical damage or oxidation.

When it comes to free radical damage, it’s not just about anti-aging it can have a negative impact on all aspects of your health. From cancers to wrinkles free radical damage can leave you looking and feeling even older than you are.

Free radicals attack the cells of the body. They damage or impair these normal cells making them more susceptible to cancers and other lifestyle diseases.

Increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables is crucial for getting more antioxidants into your body and fighting aging. Antioxidants can be found in many foods but it’s the resveratrol in the red wine, grapes, berries, and peanuts that are particularly interesting researchers searching for an anti-aging remedy.

Although scientific research is scattered and varied, adding antioxidants to your diet will be beneficial no matter what.

The typical Western diet is loaded with foods that are unhealthy for the body, particularly the heart. With heart disease as a leading health problem in the West, many are searching for a way to strengthen their heart. Over the past decade, resveratrol for heart health has come into the news.

Resveratrol is a powerful chemical compound most associated with red wine and the skin of grapes used to make red wines. Resveratrol has been recently studied for its impact on heart health. This antioxidant has been found to play an important role in maintaining heart health in studies on animals such as rats and mice.

 Studies Reveal Resveratrol Improves Heart Health

 In a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was indicated that resveratrol has a positive impact on the heart in more than just one way.

 The report detailed thirteen studies on resveratrol and its impact on animals. The authors summarized and concluded that resveratrol is vital to heart health in three main ways.

3 Ways Resveratrol May Help the Heart

1. Lowering levels of bad cholesterol
2. Antioxidant action on free radicals
3. Helping to fight inflammation in the body

 While different studies show varied results, a number of studies showed that resveratrol lowered bad cholesterol (LDL) and raised levels of good cholesterol (HDL.) Having high levels of the bad cholesterol (LDL) can increase plague in the arteries which in turn leads to heart attacks or strokes.

The antioxidant action of resveratrol impacts all areas of the body. Antioxidants act by blocking damaging free radicals from compromising and damaging the vital cells of the body. Antioxidants have been shown to help in the fight against not just heart disease but cancers and aging as well.

Finally, resveratrol was shown in the review of these studies to fight inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation in the body is associated with not just heart disease but other chronic lifestyle diseases too. With the heart, inflammation contributes to the build up of plague which can lead to heart attack or stroke.

How to Get Resveratrol for Heart Health in Your Diet

If you want to protect your heart health and resist damage from free radicals that impacts all aspects of your health consider drinking a glass of red wine with dinner, adding fruits that are high in resveratrol (such as blueberries, mulberries, raspberries, and peanuts,) or taking a resveratrol supplement.

Most of the studies on resveratrol have been on animals and little information is available on the impact resveratrol has on heart health in humans. Researchers caution that more information is needed for the benefits of resveratrol to be conclusive in humans.

What’s their secret? How do the French eat calorie high meals day after day, indulge in great wines, and yet remain healthier and thinner than Americans? The secret may lie in their wines.

In a recently published study in Nature magazine, researchers at Harvard Medical School and at the National Institute on Aging revealed the results of a study on resveratrol and weight loss in mice.

This study revealed that when the mice were fed resveratrol, they didn’t gain weight like their counterpart mice that ate the same high calorie meals as they did. In fact, the study also showed that the addition of resveratrol into the diets of the mice also significantly extended their life span and the quality of their lives.

Resveratrol is a key component found in red wines, grape juice, and the skin of red grapes. Could this be the reason why the French can regularly indulge without gaining excessive weight or getting heart disease as Americans so often do?

Studies Support Resveratrol for Weight Loss

Studies on resveratrol keep coming. In a study by Martin Wabitsch, MD, PhD a researcher from the University of Ulm in Germany he reported similar weight loss findings.

In his study, also on mice, Wabitsch found that the pre-fat cells in mice that usually are converted to mature fat cells within a forty hour period don’t act in the same way when the mice have been given resveratrol. He wondered if resveratrol for weight loss also worked for humans.

His research went onto human fat cells to see if resveratrol had the same or a similar effect. Using a human fat cell strain they exposed one group to resveratrol and not the other fat cell group. The results?

After forty-eight hours the unexposed fat cells had more than doubled in size. The group exposed to resveratrol fat cells had actually decreased by 40 to 45%.

Although the findings are promising for resveratrol and weight loss, doctors warn that more studies are needed on humans.

Resveratrol 101

You already know that resveratrol is found in the skins of red grapes, red wine, and grape juice. But what is this powerful substance?

Resveratrol is a chemical compound found in certain plants. It is called a phytoalexin because it acts as an antibiotic fighting off bacteria and fungi. What you might not realize is resveratrol is found in more than just grapes and wine too.

Foods containing Resveratrol:

• Skin of grapes
• Raspberries
• Mulberries
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Peanuts
• Japanese knotweed
• Certain Pine Trees

Resveratrol for weight loss seems to hold great promise. For now doctors and researchers caution to add these types of foods containing resveratrol to your daily diet but don’t overdue the red wine. Enjoying a glass with dinner, and adding a few of the above to your daily menu will be a great step in the right direction to boost your health.