Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Longevinex resveratrol supplements - why not just drink more wine?

The health-food industry is claiming that resveratrol is the wine component responsible for the "French Paradox:" ie, that in spite of high levels of saturated fat in their diet, the French aren't very bothered by heart disease. Some go further and to claim that resveratrol has anti-aging effects.

Longevinex offers resveratol supplements, but some folks think there's not enough active ingredient in them to make a significant anti-aging impact, or heart protection. And while taking resveratrol pills sounds safer than heavy consumption of red wine, supplementing with unproven substances is generally unwise. At this point, occasional use of red wine seems far more prudent.

Resveratrol was originally isolated by Takaoka from the roots of white hellebore in 1940, and later, in 1963, from the roots of Japanese knotweed. However, it attracted the wider attention only in 1992, when its presence in wine was used as the explanation for cardioprotective effects of wine.

Wikipedia says that in general, wines made from grapes of the Pinot Noir and St. Laurent varieties show the highest level of trans-resveratrol, though no wine or region can be said to produce wines with significantly higher resveratrol concentrations than any other wine or region.

Why not enjoy some peanuts with your wine? Apparently boiled peanuts rival wine in resveratrol content, ounce per ounce.