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Resveratrol, Red Wine's Greatest Secret
The most promising life extension research over the last few years has been about resveratrol, a polyphenol, phytolexin and antifungal that is built into numerous plants to protect them during environmental stresses.
Most of the stories in the media have chosen to focus on red wine since grape skins and grape seeds contain the most resveratrol and both the skins and the seeds are used during the fermentation of red wine. The media got it wrong when they suggested that red wine is a way to achieve the longevity that was shown in the mouse studies. In fact, you'd need to consume over 100 glasses of red wine a day, an amount that would deliver enough alcohol to have dire consequences on your longevity, your life and your driving record!
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the National Institues on Aging, led by David Sinclair PhD at Harvard, reported that resveratrol, a red wine molecule, overcame the adverse effects of a high-fat diet in mice, prolonged their life 31%, and better yet, maintained quality of life (the over-fed animals maintained motor function -- coordination and balance) as well as mice on a limited-calorie diet. At one point in the study, equivalent to middle age in humans, 22% of the fat-fed animals had expired vs. 0% in the high-fat + resveratrol fed animals. [Nature Magazine, Nov. 1, 2006]
Ever since Dr. Serge Renaud of France told us of the French Paradox in 1992, the fact that the French defy the common risk factors for cardiovascular disease by eating a high-calorie/high-fat diet and yet exhibit low rates of heart and blood vessel disease, modern medicine has argued over the possibility of prescribing wine for health. Doctors have withheld their recommendation of wine because it would give license to those who wish to over-imbibe.
Fermentation seems to be key in getting resveratrol. Another factor is the presence of the skin and the seeds during fermentation. This is why white wine, with its skins and seeds removed early in the process, is low in resveratrol. Studies suggest that red wine's beneficial effects can be attributed entirely to the polyphenols (i.e. resveratrol and quercetin) it contains, not the alcohol! Even though red wine offers some protection (French Paradox), to get the benefits that have been reported in the studies over the last few years which not only involve dramatically extending lifespan, but blocking platelet aggregation and increasing endurance, you need the higher dosages delivered by the so-called red wine pills.
These pills aren't without problems however. If you aren't careful, you can end up with a product that has more of the weaker cis form of resveratrol rather than the more powerful "trans" isomer. Resveratrol is degraded by light and heat and oxidized by oxygen, so care must be taken by the manufacturers and distributors if you are to have any hope of achieving your longevity goals using resveratrol.
That's why we're proud to announce that VitaMedics is now stocking a breakthrough resveratrol liquid that gets around these problems and delivers powerful resveratrol 6 times better than others. Just 10 mg of this special liposomal resveratrol using PEG technology delivers the same amount of resveratrol to your bloodstream as a 60 mg capsule! They also have Resveratrol in a unique drink mix with 10svgs. of fruits and vegetables per serving; NanoGreens
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