Resveratrol - The Secret Behind the French Paradox?

For years, scientists have pondered the "French Paradox" – how the French could eat a high fat diet, yet have low incidence of heart disease.

The answer may, in part, be a newly identified compound, resveratrol.

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring substance found in grapes, peanuts, some vines and Japanese knotweed, a popular plant used for years in Asian medicine. The potential benefits of resveratrol for the human population are still being explored.

Resveratrol Study Results

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the National Institute on Aging found that resveratrol in high doses let mice eat a high fat diet, yet avoid health problems commonly associated with obesity.

The liver and other systems of these obese mice remained healthy and fat-related deaths dropped 31% for mice fed resveratrol.

Another study showed less weight gain in mice fed resveratrol, greater physical endurance, and better insulin sensitivity.

 Resveratrol also demonstrated the ability to increase life span in yeast, mice, and certain fish.

A Powerful Antioxidant with Many Benefits

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant and has been referred to it as "one of the best free radical scavengers."

Resveratrol shows promise for a wide variety of human health problems particularly age-related diseases.

Clinical trials are currently underway in areas such as diabetes management and cardiovascular disease.