What's All This Hype About Resveratrol as the Fountain of Youth?

by Vic Shayne, PhD

Who is Dr. Oz and why is he hammering away at resveratrol as the new Fountain of Youth? Dr. Oz is to millions a  doctor who sits in front of Oprah in his surgical scrubs and explains the meaning of life, visa vis nutrition. And his biggest crusade looks like resveratrol, a substance I’ve been writing about for years. Though I am not alone. Resveratrol is contained within several of the foods best known to the diets of the Mediterranean region, chief of which are grapes. Hence, you’ll find grape seed and grape skin extract in NutriPlex Formulas’ whole food products such as SuperGreens PhytoFood.

Boston Tribute wrote: “Resveratrol, recently featured and recommended on TV and in the mainstream media, is a natural component of grapes, red wine, and other foods and it has also been found to slow down aging process and promote special protection of the heart resulting in a much younger and healthier life. The researchers explored the influence of Resveratrol on the heart, muscle, and brain. Results found that low doses of resveratrol prevented 92% of age-related change.”

Is it a Fountain of Youth? In my humble opinion, from the time we are infants we move slowly (though it seems fast sometimes) toward disintegration. Don’t let this depress you. It’s the way of the world. We continue to age, but when we hit our forties, we start to worry about aging A LOT!. We worry about wrinkles, diseases, stiff joints, heart disease, loss of energy and so forth. And thanks to our vanity-based culture, our primary concern continues to be how we look. In short, though, life marches on and we don’t get any younger. But it does seem that some of the aging process can be slowed down through proper nutrition and lifestyle habits.

Scientists have discovered that there’s something called the “French Paradox.” In short, this is a term to explain that they are puzzled as to why many people of the Mediterranean region eat a great amount of fatty foods, sauces, wine and cheese yet are healthier than most other people on earth. This is especially surprising to scientists who, with big pharmaceutical backers, have been telling us that cholesterol and fats are bad to eat.

Resveratrol, potent antioxidant found in grape products, boosts the immune system, helps heal wounds, protects the heart and is being studied for roles in cancer prevention, anti-aging, increased athletic performance, cardiovascular health and more. Resveratrol interferes with all three stages of carcinogenesis (cancer causation) — initiation, promotion and progression.

As with all findings of this sort, it is my philosophy that nature knows best, so I would rather eat the grapes and sip the wine than to take resveratrol as an isolated supplement. You can find grape seed extract, grape skin extract and other antioxidant foods in SuperGreens PhytoFood.