Tremendous interest and excitement has surfaced during the past few years about the so-called “Red Wine Miracle”, or the “French Paradox”. It came about when scientists deduced that the French, who eat the same high-cholesterol diet most of us do, and who smoke heavily, suffer many fewer heart attacks than North Americans do.

It turns out that an ingredient in red wine helps protect the heart. The substance, of course, is Resveratrol.

Then, when studies at Harvard and Johns Hopkins showed that Resveratrol greatly prolonged the lifespan of various organisms, including mice, which are surprisingly similar to humans in many ways, the excitement grew.

Further investigation indicates that the benefits of Resveratrol include:

• Anti-aging effects by activating a “longevity gene”
• Weight loss effects
• Fighting cancer initiation and progression
• Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
• Lowering LDL cholesterol
• Reducing blood “stickiness”
• Protecting against heart attack and stroke
• Protecting the brain from free-radical damage
• Protecting against neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers
• Protecting against Huntington’s Disease
• Reducing the incidence of skin cancer and rejuvenating aging skin and connective tissue
• Increasing exercise capacity
• Preventing type 2 diabetes
• Preventing osteoporosis

Predictably, drug companies, and physicians, and plain old marketers, seeing an opportunity, jumped on the bandwagon, and there are now dozens, if not hundreds, of Resveratrol-containing products in the marketplace. Some say that it is premature to be encouraging people to take Resveratrol, because there have been no long-term studies on humans. All the definitive research so far has been done in the lab.

Others say that Resveratrol is a naturally-occurring substance that people have been ingesting for thousands of years, that the benefits in mice and other organisms are very clear, and that it’s reasonable to assume that Resveratrol will be beneficial to humans, and very unlikely to be harmful. Why wait years for scientific corroboration of something that seems so intuitively logical?

Below, are more details about some of the presumed benefits to be obtained by supplementing your diet with Resveratrol, along with the risks, not that we think there are many, and side effects.

Resveratrol as Anti-aging Agent:< Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant that may activate and trigger a cell’s survival mechanism through a defense enzyme that prolongs the time cells have to repair their broken DNA and helps block free radicals that age your heart, brain, and joints. It may be more effective protection than other well-known antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E. The most notable study is one done at Harvard Medical School, and published in the journal “Nature”, probably the most prestigious scientific journal, which showed among other things, that mice given Resveratrol lived 40% longer. The mice were eating a high-fat diet, and though they did get fat, they stayed healthy, and didn’t develop heart disease or diabetes normally associated with that kind of diet.

Another highly-regarded study found that mice, already middle aged, given Resveratrol, lived about 15% longer than other mice receiving the same diet without Resveratrol. In addition, the Resveratrol-supplemented mice lived more active lives, and had much better motor function and endurance.

Resveratrol as Weight Loss Agent: According to one University study, “Antioxidants may trigger receptors in your upper intestine that tell your brain you’re full.” In this study, animals fed Resveratrol decreased their food intake by about 8%. Other studies have shown that Resveratrol helps to regulate insulin production, which decreases fat storage. It also acts as an estrogen blocker, which increases muscle and decreases fat. Resveratrol also increases endurance, allowing for extended exercise sessions, therefore more calorie-burning. Another study showed that Resveratrol inhibited “pre-fat” cells from converting into mature fat cells.

Resveratrol and Cardiovascular Health: Resveratrol is a potent antioxidant that may reduce free radical damage throughout the body & provide protection to the heart and the entire cardiovascular system, in part by lowering total cholesterol, and especially by lowering LDL cholesterol, the “Bad” cholesterol. Resveratrol also reduces platelet aggregation, or the tendency toward blood clots, which of course would decrease the number and severity of heart attacks and strokes. Further, many researchers are coming to the conclusion that it is inflammation that leads to heart disease, and that reducing inflammation may very well be one of the prime mechanisms by which Resveratrol protects the heart. (See Part 2 for more discussion of inflammation.) An additional mechanism may be Resveratrol’s stimulation of a protein known as adiponectin, which has been associated with a lower risk of heart attack.