Resveratrol Supplements and Your Health - What's the Connection?

It's long been a mystery why the French, who eat a diet high in calories and fat, typically live longer and healthier lives than Americans — now we know it may be that they drink so much wine that's the answer.

This fact isn't coincidental. The real solution to the mystery seems to be resveratrol. This is a compound that a handful of plants produce in the skins of their fruit to fight off bacterial and parasitic fungal infections, and it works by being a powerful anti-oxidant.

The only issue as far as the French Paradox was concerned was that researchers weren't sure that there was enough resveratrol in the typical French diet for it to be clinically significant.

In nearly all cases in the lab, administering resveratrol produced benefits basically without fail. The lucky mice who were given resveratrol lived longer, but that's just one part of it. They also had more energy and more lean muscle than their counterparts.

Hold on, that's only half the story…

For example, a group of mice who had been genetically engineered to have diabetes had their blood glucose levels moderate to just slight above normal after taking resveratrol.

The results were dramatic enough — even if no one claimed they had found a "cure" for diabetes — that increased human testing was warranted.

And as you might expect, now the Web is getting into this as well. I'm sure you're at least aware of the glowing reports that have been describing resveratrol as a true wonder drug that will change the world.

Does it warrant all this attention?

It just may. The hype and promises surrounding resveratrol make it pretty hard to live up to. The fountain of youth that we've been searching for throughout history is, alas, just a myth.

But maybe, when all is said and done, we might all agree that resveratrol is as close as we can get.

It's definitely worth checking out as far as I'm concerned, especially because it will only take a few minutes. Because they're classified as a "nutritional supplement," resveratrol, like other supplements, aren't subject to things like "drug purity laws."

Buying resveratrol, like buying any supplement online, is a game of buyer beware. Because we have to harvest it from plants rather than producing it synthetically, a lot of time and effort goes into getting resveratrol. Which means that resveratrol supplements tend to vary in quality, along with their price.

Unfortunately, you can't just increase your consumption of a certain food to get enough resveratrol to make a difference. In fact, even red wine, which contains high levels of resveratrol, doesn't do the trick. You'd need to drink several liters — at least 3, or about 5 regular-sized bottles — every day.

So to get the benefit, you're going to need a little help in the form of supplements. But how do you choose the right resveratrol supplements in the first place?

Look for resveratrol supplements that are relatively, if not wholly, free of fillers. Very bright lights and very high temperatures can cause resveratrol supplements to break down, so make sure to store them in the proper conditions.

The very first thing I would suggest you do is head over to the resveratrol supplements review pages I mention below, where you'll find constantly updated reviews. There are also a few nice videos at that site that show you the exact steps you need to take to claim some great free resveratrol trial samples that a few companies are giving away. So it's definitely better than a haphazard trial and error process, and it just might wind up saving you a decent amount of money.

Just to sum up, whichever resveratrol supplements you choose to take, understand that it's only a part of a health maintenance system. Excerise, a health diet and some attention to your emotional health are still important.

Don't take resveratrol expecting it to work miracles on its own. You still have to live a reasonably health lifestyle to experience the true benefits. In other words, don't abuse your body and expect resveratrol to make it okay.