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A natural by product of red wine has been discovered to increase life expectancy. It is called Resveratol, and comes from the skin of red grapes. It may now be possible to age gracefully. And all without the reliance on harsh chemical treatments or surgery. The French have enjoyed the fruits of resveratrol for decades, by enjoying the company of red wine.
Resveratrol supplements are hastily been manufactured by several pharmaceutical companies. Currently resveratrol studies have only been performed on mice, flies and worms. Worms where shown to have an iincreased life span by 60%, flies by 30% and fish by about 60%.
Dr Rafael de Cabo, from the National Institute of Aging at Harvard Medical School, US said that after six months, resveratrol essentially prevented most of the negative effects of a high calorie diet in mice. In essence the mice who where over eating actually did not damage their life expectancy. They actually increased it.
Other studies have also shown resveratrol to be useful in the battle against cancer and diabetes. It is promising to think that accelerated aging, diabetes and cancer could one day be treated with this natural compound.
When you look at the research in more detail, reservatrol may actually treat a common burden to society. All the mice in the study where fed highly saturated fats. In essence they were obese. It did not damage their life expectancy at all.
Another study by the University of Rochester revealed that the natural antioxidant resveratrol can help destroy pancreatic cancer cells from reaching the cell’s core energy sources called mitochondria. As the cancer has nothing to feed on, it therefore cannot grow.
There has been a lot of hype surrounding new wonder supplements and their claims. Most of them have just alluded to slightly promoting their cause. Resveratrol really hit the headlines after statistics revealed that a large percentage of France’s occupants eat a highly saturated fat and high calorie diet, yet the instance of heart disease is lower than that of America’s.
Is resveratrol the elixir of life? It remains to be seen, or exploited even, without more substantial research. At least it sounds promising so far. In an era where the boundaries of medical science are delving into unethical territories, such as the human genome, it’s refreshing to think that resveratrol, a compound found naturally in red grapes could provide many benefits to human existence.