The Sisyphus Blog

Why resveratrol is the main source of red wine health benefits

Resveratrol is a polyphenol type flavonoid currently exciting great interest as a potential boon to health.  Like other such compounds, it is a very useful antioxidant in its own right, but it has attracted particular attention as a potential solution to the so-called “French Paradox” -  that is the relatively low rates of cardiovascular disease enjoyed in France despite a national diet traditionally rich in cholesterol and saturated fat.  The French, of course, are also known as high per capita consumers of alcohol, particularly in the form of red wine.

Recent research appears to have established that the consumption of alcohol in moderation offers significant protection for the cardiovascular system, and may even reduce the incidence of related diseases by as much as 30%.  And although conventional medical opinion is characteristically cautious, there is also some good evidence that the resveratrol which is almost unique to red wine may provide health benefits which go far beyond those which can be explained by the effects of the alcohol alone.

The role of fat-soluble antioxidants in protecting the circulatory system from damaging free radical attack is already well understood, and the resveratrol and other polyphenols contained in red wine are therefore likely to be highly beneficial for this reason alone.  Laboratory tests, moreover, have shown resveratrol to have significant anti-coagulant and anti-inflammatory effects.

But that’s not all.  It’s known that some potentially harmful compounds in the body do not become carcinogenic unless and until they are metabolised by particular enzymes.  Research suggests that resveratrol may help inhibit the activity of these enzymes, and it therefore seems possible that the compound may have some protective effect against certain cancers.   It’s only fair to acknowledge, however, that orthodox scientific opinion quite rightly still insists that more large scale trials are required outside the laboratory before any protective effects of resveratrol against cancer can be definitely asserted.

But the anti-inflammatory properties of resveratrol may also have a significant protective effect in the battle against atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), a significant precursor of serious cardiovascular disease; and like other antioxidants, resveratrol is believed to help prevent the formation of the blood clots which if they obstruct a coronary or cerebral artery may lead to a heart attack or stroke, still two of the leading causes of premature death or disability in the West.

And amazingly enough it appears that resveratrol may also have a more direct effect in terms of increasing longevity.  A good deal of research has shown that reduced calorie intake may increase animal lifespans, including those of certain mammalian species, apparently by increasing the activity of specific enzymes.  Resveratrol has also been shown to stimulate these enzymes and to enhance the life spans of worms and fruit flies.

The Safe Way To Get Your Red Wine Health Benefits

To maximise your intake of resveratrol from wine you need to know that it’s confined almost entirely to the skins of red or black grapes, and is consequently found in significant quantities only in those wines produced by an initial fermentation on the pulp of these skins.  Naturally the longer the pulp fermentation is allowed to continue the more colour and resveratrol is leached from the skins.  So the colour of the finished wine is a handy guide; generally the richer and darker the colour the more resveratrol will be found.  Rose types and light reds may contain some, but white wines produced by a juice fermentation alone will provide little if any.

Usually it is the red wines produced in the sunnier latitudes of the Mediterranean, and the New World which will be richest in resveratrol, and dark red wines from these regions may provide as much as 2 mg in a small 5 oz glass.  But unfortunately, these wines also tend to be the strongest in alcohol, as well as so-called “congeners”, the mildly toxic compounds which can cause nasty hangovers.

Fortunately supplements of resveratrol are now readily available, principally in the form of red wine or red grape extracts, which will also contain other antioxidant polyphenols.  Recommended doses will typically provide between 10 and 50 mg of resveratrol, which it would be hazardous to health to attempt to achieve through the consumption of red wine alone.

There are of course many other reasons than resveratrol to drink red wine, not least the relaxation and sheer pleasure to be derived.  So continue to enjoy the odd glass, by all means, but why not also allow extracted resveratrol to supply you with a vastly more concentrated and much safer source of red wine health benefits.

Technorati Tags: Antioxidant, polyphenols, red wine extract, red wine health, red wine health benefits, resveratrol

Siberian eleuthero root extract (commonly, though incorrectly, known as siberian ginseng), is arguably nature’s most powerful adaptogen.

But sadly, it’s just one of the many scientifically and time-proven stress remedies that so-called “experts” will swear you don’t need. To be strictly fair, though, those “experts” may have a point. But only if you get a regular eight hours unbroken sleep a night, eat a well balanced diet supplying every nutrient your body needs each day and consume alcohol only in strict moderation and tobacco not at all.

If you’re a typical twenty-first century animal, however, you more likely eat on the run – a snatched breakfast or none at all, lunch on a sandwich at your desk; and in the evening “enjoy” a highly processed, nutrition-stripped ready meal for dinner, giving thanks that you can always disguise the taste with the drink (or two) that by now you urgently need to help you relax.

It may be years before this way of life produces any treatable physical symptoms you can point to. But your energy levels are low, your muscle tone is poor, and you struggle to fight off even the most trivial colds and infections. The condition is so common that your physician probably uses the shorthand, “TATT”, to describe it. But don’t ask for the scientific meaning of this – it simply stands for “tired all the time”, and doesn’t respond well to prescription medications.

You see, conventional western medicine is primarily geared to producing a specific “magic bullet” treatment for each specific ailment with which it is presented. But it’s much less good at providing what you need to prevent you from becoming ill in the first place – that’s to say a powerful tonic and stimulant which will not only protect you against disease, but optimise every aspect of your physical and mental performance.

Fortunately, such substances are found in nature and are known as adaptogens, a term coined in Russia in 1947 specifically to describe compounds found to increase the body’s resistance and help normalise its functions in response to all kinds of stress. One in particular, eleutherococcus senticosus (eleuthero), has been the subject of exhaustive scientific enquiry, and

siberian eleuthero extract was approved for human use way back in 1962

But the power of this remarkable plant (an unprepossessing spiny shrub growing to a maximum of nine feet tall) has been known in China for at least 2,000 years. And it’s still widely used there as a general tonic and stimulant for improved vigor and general health, increasing resistance to disease and longevity in keeping with the general emphasis of Chinese medicine on prevention rather than cure, while promoting the harmony of the body’s own systems as the best means of ensuring continued optimal health.

In brief, research has shown a significant improvement in individuals’ adaptogenic response to all kinds of stresses; including heat, cold excessive noise and vibration, physical exhaustion, viruses and bacteria, and chemicals and pollution. In fact, so many and diverse have been the positive effects that eleuthero can be legitimately claimed to improve adaptation to the very stresses of life itself.

For an illustration of this power, it’s only necessary to look at the widespread use of siberian eleuthero extract by individuals whose occupations subject their bodies and minds to extremes of stress….

Cosmonauts, deep-sea divers, soldiers explorers, mountain rescue teams and elite athletes are just a few of the groups of such people to swear by the benefits of eleuthero

But it’s not just a question of helping the already supremely fit attain even higher levels of performance. Many modern scientific studies have now examined the effect of siberian eleuthero upon thousands of individuals of all ages, and the herb is also a traditional Chinese folk remedy for common ailments such as bronchitis, all kinds of heart and circulatory problems, rheumatism and male infertility to name but a few.

And in the 1960s eleuthero root became, and remains, extremely popular with countless thousands of ordinary Russians – which is not surprising as more recent Russian studies have confirmed eleuthero extract’s potential benefits in tackling cardiac disease, disorders of the circulatory system, blood pressure problems, diabetes and even cancer.

Now it’s important to stress that siberian eleuthero is not claimed as a cure for these or any other health condition; it’s rather that the herb performs the essential function of the adaptogen – acting as a tonic and stimulant for the entire system, and so helping the body’s natural healing processes restore it to optimum performance.

Click here for siberian eleuthero and more than 2,000 other top quality health products

Technorati Tags: Adaptogen, eleuthero, Ginseng, Siberian Eleuthero, siberian eleuthero extract, siberian eleuthero root, Siberian Ginseng, Stimulant

The Benefits of Blueberry Nutrition

Blueberries have recently been hailed as a superfood for their health promoting   properties.  But is it possible that these humble fruits can really pack such a punch?

Like most fruits, blueberries are packed with health promoting compounds, not least among these being vitamin C, the most important water soluble antioxidant in the body.  But vitamin C functions best in the presence of plant flavonoids (or bioflavonoids) which are themselves antioxidants and as such are important protectors against the damage to cells and tissues, which may be caused by the compounds known as free radicals.

So luckily, blueberries are also rich in flavonoids and the most important blueberry antioxidant, the flavonoid known as anthocyanidin, is thought to be responsible for most blueberry health benefits, particularly those which relate to the eyes.

Anthocyanidin is believed to be crucial for the maintenance of the body’s connective tissue, or collagen, on which depends the strength of the capillary walls, and is also vital for efficient blood circulation and effective use of vitamin C throughout the body. Anthocyanidin pigment is also an effective anti-bacterial agent, which is especially good for soothing digestive and intestinal disorders, but . . .

…it’s from anthocyanidin’s stimulating and strengthening effect on the circulation and tiny blood vessels of the eyes that most of the benefits of blueberry nutrition are derived.

The central area of the eye’s retina, the macula, is made up of countless light sensitive cells which are essential to good vision. These cells depend for their effective functioning on huge numbers of tiny capillaries which supply them with oxygenated blood and essential nutrients.  Using the power of blueberry nutrition to ensure a good supply of anthocyanidin may therefore be a wise precaution because serious and even catastrophic loss of vision may occur if any weakening of the capillaries through disease or free radical activity leads to any leakage of blood into the retina itself.

These kind of eye problems are particularly common amongst sufferers from diabetes and as well as possibly helping prevent this condition – known as “diabetic retinopathy” there’s also evidence that blueberries may help reduce the high blood sugar which is the root cause of the problem.

Blueberry antioxidant effects within the eyes…

…are also believed by many practitioners to help prevent the cataracts and age related macular degeneration (AMD) which remain an all too common cause of progressive blindness in older people.

But it’s only fair to acknowledge that conventional opinion in the medical and opthalmic professions remains unconvinced of the benefits of blueberry nutrition, their attitude being sceptical if not downright hostile. But nutritional therapists, herbalist and many alternative health practitioners are nevertheless convinced of blueberry health benefits. And of course this attitude of most (but by no means all) opthalmic professionals is very much in keeping with the profession’s traditional hostility to those pioneers who have sought cures for visual disorders rather than being content to rely on mere artificial correction of symptoms (ie prescription lenses), and in its persistent rejection of the evidence which supports more natural methods of improving vision and eye health.

But whatever your views about alternative therapies or diet supplements in general, the good news about blueberries is that they’re an entirely natural food stuff, consumed by humans since time immemorial, which can be easily and cheaply obtained, and which present no risk to health in any quantities conceivably likely to be ingested, even if taken in the form of a concentrated extract.

Click here for an inexpensive high-potency extract of blueberry and many other antioxidant fruits

Blueberry supplements are now easily available in good health stores, and are often found combined in mixed berry formulations along with extracts of red raspberry, strawberry, grape and even passion juice – all valuable sources of antioxidant flavonoids in their own right. For eye health in particular, blueberry is often combined with lutein and zeaxanthin, more antioxidants which evidence suggests may have powerful beneficial effects within the eyes, particularly in tackling AMD.

So if the claims made for blueberry nutrition are even partly true, then blueberries or blueberry supplements can be a potentially hugely valuable (and completely harmless) addition to your dietary regime.

Technorati Tags: Bioflavonoids, Blueberries, Blueberry antioxidant, Blueberry health, Blueberry nutrition, Blueberry supplements, Eye Health, Free Radicals, Plant Flavonoids