Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Darrell Miller


Chemically, Resveratrol is a polyphenol that includes the flavanoids and proanthocyanadins, both very powerful antioxidants. These are very useful for the destruction of free radicals that threaten your health and well-being in this age of excessive pollution and vehicle emissions, and also excessive exposure to the harmful factors of sunlight through the erosion of the ozone layer that acts as a filter against these harmful free radical-inducing rays.

Biohemically it is a phytoalexin, a chemical used by a plant to protect against and destroy invaders. Each phytoalexin is specific to a particular invader, whether it is an insect, a bacterium or a fungus. They can take the form of terpenes, alkaloids or any other chemical that disrupt the cell walls of or otherwise destroy the enemy to the plant concerned.

Resveratrol is particularly well known for existing on the skins of red grapes, but can also be produced synthetically and marketed as a nutritional supplement. The so-called ‘French Paradox’ relates to the low incidence of coronary heart disease in Southern France in spite of the high saturated fat content of their diet. At least part of this is claimed to be due to the Resveratrol content of the red wine they drink, although the quantity even in a whole bottle is very small.

However, before considering the nutritional benefits of the extract, apart from red grape skins where else can resveratrol be found? Japanese knotweed is a bushy perennial plant, about 4 to 10 feet high, is a very rich source of resveratrol, and is the more important natural source of the two. Red grape skins hardly contain enough to be worthy of extracting. It is also present in minor quantities in pine nuts, peanuts and various other vines and grapes.

It has been under study for many years now for its effect on the heart and other parts of the body, and the antioxidant effect of resveratrol has been found to be unique. The effect of free radicals on the arteries is to help, along with cholesterol, to promote the thickening and hardening of the artery walls. Damage to the arteries by free radicals, and the resulting scar tissue, causes the production of even more free radicals and a vicious circle of damage and even more free radical production occurs.

The antioxidant action of resveratrol is in the enhancement of the nitric oxide content of the blood. Free radicals can reduce the levels of blood nitric oxide that in turn increases blood pressure. An increase in nitric oxide by appropriate antioxidants can help to reduce blood pressure closer to normal. Resveratrol is more effective in achieving this than any of the vitamin antioxidants, A, C or E. It does so by opening up the arteries and reducing the resistance to blood flow through them. .

It also helps to prevent blood cells from sticking together and forming clots that can lead to serious cardiovascular problems, and has been found by Canadian studies to be effective against a much wider range of chemicals that promote blood clotting than any other anti-clotting components of wine. In fact it has now been established, and more or less confirmed by the medical profession, that drinking red wine significantly reduces the effects of cardiovascular disease and can even go a long way towards curing it. Napa Valley here we come!

Inflammation is a condition that is caused by the immune system of the body, the purpose of which is to protect us against foreign invaders. However, once inflammation starts, it triggers even further immune responses itself, that if not controlled can lead to extremely painful and sometimes very serious conditions, even after the major trigger for the initial immune response has been dealt with.

Inflammation is regulated by chemicals known as cytokines, the master of which is NF Kappa B that controls all other cytokines. NF Kapa B also controls the activity of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) essential for that part of the immune system that causes inflammation.

COX-2 is an enzyme that increases the production of Postaglandin E-2 (PGE-2) that is an essential trigger for T-cells that attack perceived foreign cells. If PGE-2 is suppressed, then the T-cells will not be activated. This is an essential part of reducing unwanted inflammation. However, it can be dangerous to suppress molecules below NF Kappa B such as COX-2 or PGE-2. VIOXX is a prime example of the type of heart problems that can occur if you try that type of inhibition, and Celebrex is another.

The beauty of resveratrol is that, although advertised and claimed to control COX-2 and Prostoglandin E-2, it does so by suppressing the action of NF Kapa B, the ’supreme controller’ of the inflammatory war.

Finally, there is also some evidence that resveratrol can have an effect on aging. It is well known that powerful anti-oxidants can help to protect against the cell destruction that free radicals can cause, and so help to protect the body against the aging effect of this cell destruction. However, there is another way in which resveratrol might contribute to us all looking more youthful in future (though for many of us it is a bit too late!).

Sirtuins (silent information regulator proteins) are enzymes that are known to promote the survival of cells through adverse conditions, such as SIRT 1 that protects against premature aging by suppressing the destruction of damaged cells long enough for them to be repaired. Plant polyphenols such as resveratrol are though to be able to activate sirtuins with the possibility of lengthening life by slowing natural cell destruction, and have also been shown to be able to slow aging by activating sirtuins to mimic the benefits of calorie restriction.

There is still a lot of research and work required on resveratrol, but the signs are evident that this is a possibility in the future for extending the average lifespan of human beings by a significant amount. In the case of yeast it has been demonstrated to be as much as 80%.

Translated to you or I that would mean us living to about 140 years old – if we want it!

Guest Author: JC McDowell


There has been a long standing debate on the health benefits of consuming moderate amounts of alcohol. Specifically in regards to red wine, it may not be the alcohol that is gaining so much attention as the resveratrol that is in the red wine.

While resveratrol can be found in plants such as peanuts, mulberries, eucalyptus, spruce, and lily, resveratrol is most abundant in grapes used to make wine. Vitis vinifera, muscadine, and labrusca grapes have the most abundant natural sources of resveratrol. Resveratrol can be found in the vines, roots, stalks, and seeds of the plants, but the highest concentration is found in the skins.

The amount of resveratrol contained in the wine is related to the length of time the grape skins are present during the fermentation process. That’s why the concentration of reseveratrol is much higher in red wine than in white wine where the juice is pressed from the grapes and the skins are removed early in the wine making process. Since grape juice is not a fermented beverage it is not a significant source of resveratrol.

Resveratrol is produced as part of a plants defense system and is an antibiotic to protect the plant against disease. Interestingly, higher concentrations of resveratrol are found in grapes grown in cooler climates where fungal infections are much more common.

The Japanese and Chinese have been using the active ingredient of resveratrol as a traditional treatment for human fungal, inflammatory, lipid, allergic, and hypertensive diseases for decades, but the health benefits of resveratrol in red wine have only came to the attention to the scientific community in recent years as a possible explanation for the ‘French Paradox’.

You see, the French have a high saturated fat diet, but a very low incidence of heart disease. Red wine, due to the grape skins, is thought to be the answer to this anomaly. Resveratrol is now being researched as a powerful antioxidant and anti-cancer agent. To date, there are no long term clinical studies to determine the health benefits of consuming red wine, but combined with the well documented benefits to moderate continual alcohol intake, there doesn’t appear to be a health risk associated with resveratrol in red wine.

Before you run out and start buying cases of red wine as a cure for heart disease remember that there can be too much of a good thing. The American Heart Association suggests 1-2 glasses of alcohol per day is the optimal amount to reduce the risk of heart disease. More than two glasses of alcohol per day pose long term health risks that far outweigh any potential health benefits that can be obtained with resveratrol as an antioxidant or anti-cancer agent.

A Toast! To the many good things that can be found in a bottle of Red Wine.



Secret of Youth