Anyone watching television or reading the newspaper in the last year has probably at least heard the word Resveratrol recently. But what is it exactly and what is it that is so exciting for everyone from Harvard scientists to Oprah Winfrey?
Resveratrol is a natural substance found in the skin of grapes, becoming most potent when these are made into red wine, a favorite of the French who despite their high fat diet have a far lower incidence of heart disease than those in other western countries, something scientists call the "French Paradox". It was studying red wine in conjunction with trying to solve that mystery that led a group of Harvard scientists headed by one Dr. Sinclair to begin studying the effects of resveratrol on lab fruit flies and later mice. Their results were promising, with mice on a very high fat diet but being given resveratrol demonstrating a health that what surprising given the levels of fat in the diet.
Further studies have led to all kinds of expectations for the potential of resveratrol. Topical application on mice seemed to inhibited skin damage and seemed to decrease the incidence of skin cancer. There is great hope for its use in helping those with diabetes. The Sinclair study was sold to drug giant Glaxo who are working on diabetes drug based on resveratrol that they hope will be groundbreaking.
It is not surprising then that the market for resveratrol supplements is now a large one. To achieve maximum benefit a human needs to ingest about 250mg of resveratrol extract daily.To do this by drinking red wine would be virtually impossible.
There have been no completed studies on the effects on humans of resveratrol yet, but there are many in progress. No side effects have been reported however, even in the completed animal studies.
As the scientific research indicates benefits of both Resverarol taken internally and used topically there are number of skin care lines are using resveratrol in their products these days too. Resveratrol is not cheap, so if you are considering trying a product that uses it, shop around. There are a number of free trials of these products available that can be a great way to try such things out. The offers usually involve a small shipping charge of $4-$7 dollars and must be cancelled within the time limit to avoid being charged the full, higher amount. But used carefully, these free trials can be a great, inexpensive way to try resveratrol for yourself.
