Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that protect your heart, brain, and body. Healthy lifestyle is the best medicine, but a glass of grape juice, could keep you feeling great in different ways, because of a key ingredient known as resveratrol.
What Is Resveratrol?
A group of plant micronutrients known as polyphenols includes resveratrol. Polyphenols are natural synthetic compounds that plants make to survive at dry season or attack from disease. These compounds are found in plant foods and have a variety of health benefits.
Resveratrol is found in peanuts, berries, and grapes. It is also found in red wine in higher amounts and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to protect you against diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The anti-inflammatory effects of resveratrol make it a good remedy for arthritis, and skin inflammation. Also, resveratrol has antibacterial and antifungal properties that helps to treat infections of the urinary and digestive tracts.
Where it could be found?
The resveratrol actually found in the skins of grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, pomegranate, and peanuts.
1. Red wine
The reason wine is a potent source of resveratrol that it’s not pasteurized or boiled, it is the case with jarred grape preserves and juices. Since heat, light, and air degrade this compound, most processed foods will contain less, even when they’re made with this same fruit. Red wines have higher content and those made with thicker-skinned grapes. Your average bottle measures as 5.01 mg of resveratrol.
2. Red grape juice
Even though amount is less than red vine, but it’s still a rich source. Juices made from red grapes will have the most, averaging 0.5 mg per liter. That equals around 0.1 mg of resveratrol per 8 oz serving. The benefit of this source is that it’s alcohol free, but the drawback is that it has lots of sugar.
3. Peanuts
In grapes, it’s only in the skin but with peanuts, it’s found in all parts. How much there is in peanuts is comparable to most red wines, when you compare equal weights of each. Raw runner peanuts with their skin intact have tested out at 1.12 mg of resveratrol per 100 g (3.5 oz) serving. Roasted peanuts still have resveratrol, but their content is low.
4. Fresh grapes
Rather than drinking wine, eating grapes may be your best bet. You’re getting an alcohol-free form and since fresh fruit is unpasteurized, most of it is intact, as well as the vitamin C, which is another heat-sensitive nutrient.
In fresh grapes resveratrol ranges from 0.24 to 1.25 mg per cup (160 g) for the red varieties.
5. Cocoa powder
The resveratrol in cocoa beans (which are technically seeds) is quite high and the most potent food source made from them is raw cocoa powder. Also known as cacao, there’s 0.185 mg of trans-resveratrol per 100g (3.5 oz).
6. Strawberries
A 100 g serving of raw strawberries has 0.35 mg of resveratrol. That compares to 0.15 mg for fresh black grapes and 0.02 mg for green/white grapes.
7. Blueberries
With 0.383 mg per 100 g, the amount of resveratrol in fresh raw blueberries is slightly higher than that of strawberries.
8. Bilberries
Also known as the European blueberry, one test found 0.67 mg of resveratrol per 100 g of raw bilberries.
9. Red currants
This fruit beats blueberries and bilberries. At 1.57 mg of resveratrol per 100 g, red currants even beat many of the best wine sources, which will have around 30% less per glass.
10. Cranberries
Coming from the same plant genus as blueberries but with a distinctly different color and taste, cranberries clock in even higher at 1.92 mg of resveratrol per 100 g.
If you eat that amount, you’re getting around 200% of how much there is in a glass of red wine.
11. Mulberries
Almost daily, this is our breakfast here at Superfoodly. An easy recipe of instant oatmeal + cacao powder + dried fruit and mulberrie is packed with protein and antioxidants.
12. Pomegranate
Pomegranate juice is also packed full of polyphenols (resveratrol) with the capacity to mop up free radicals and interfere with chronic inflammation. This juice, in fact, contains more polyphenols than blueberries, cranberries, green tea, orange juice or even red wine.
Why Should You Take Resveratrol?
Many people can benefit from taking resveratrol. Anyone who would like to experience any of the following results should take resveratrol.
- Lose Weight
- Live Long
- Reduce Blood Pressure
- Reduce Cholesterol
- Kill Cancer Cells
- Control Diabetes
- Reduce Inflammation
- Increase Cognitive Performance
- Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s
- Enhance Their Eyesight
- Look Younger
Health Benefits of Resveratrol
There are many health benefits of resveratrol some of these are: –
- Lowers LDL Cholesterol
- Lowers Blood Pressure
- Discourages Blood Clots
- Reduces Inflammation
- Lengthens LifeSpan
- Protects the Brain
- Increases Insulin Sensitivity
- Decreases Joint Pain
- Kills Cancer Cells/Anti-cancer properties
- Anti- Aging
- Protects Against Obesity
- Helps Fight Infections
- Protects Vision
- Protects from Cardiovascular disease
- Alzheimer’s
- DIABETES
- ARTHIRITIS
Like other antioxidants, resveratrol contains a lot of ingredients that may help our body to fight from different illness. And antioxidants have the potential benefits that include anti-aging effects, anti-cancer effects, and more, many more studies need to be done on resveratrol alone. However, there are several properties of resveratrol that might make these benefits possible.
How resveratrol works in our body?
Resveratrol works by modifying inflammation in the body, in addition to having other positive effects on hormone production, blood circulation and fat storage. Studies demonstrate that it specifically seems to work in some of the following ways:
- It limits the body’s ability to produce sphingosine kinase and phospholipase D, two molecules known to trigger inflammation. Studies have demonstrated resveratrol’s ability to suppresses the expression and activity of cyclooxygenase enzymes tied to inflammatory responses that damage tissue throughout the body. Although the body naturally produces inflammation as a means of healing and protecting itself, such as to counter bacteria and viruses as part of the immune system, a state of chronic or constant inflammation is not a healthy state to be in. It ages the body and increases risk for almost every disease.
- Resveratrol has been found to lower insulin levels, which is key to staying young, at a healthy weight and fighting diseases like diabetes. it is found that those with diabetes who took resveratrol had lower glucose and insulin levels, making it a powerful aid to a healthy lifestyle. It also has positive effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that’s involved in the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Researchers have observed that BDNF levels are lower in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus and other insulin-related problems.
- It facilitates mitochondrial respiration and gluconeogenesis. In other words, it helps the “powerhouse” part of cells (the mitochondria) that supplies cells with energy to work optimally.
- Resveratrol keeps circulation flowing smoothly, preventing arterial damage and offering protection in the brain from memory loss and conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. It may also prevent other disorders, such as stroke, ischemia and Huntington’s disease, in addition to mental health problems like depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism.
- It’s been shown to have positive effects on vascular endothelial growth factor — in other words repairing damaged blood vessels.
- Because it controls release of pro-inflammatory molecules, resveratrol thus has benefits for preventing autoimmune diseases. It also seems to positively alter gut microbiota and influences stem cell proliferation and differentiation.
- Finally, as a potent antioxidant, resveratrol is constantly fighting damage from free radicals that can increase cancer risk. It deeply penetrates the nucleus and mitochondria of each cell, helping repair harmful effects due to free radical damage that can alter DNA. It also modulates apoptosis (destruction of harmful cells) and therefore seems to have anti-cancer properties. Studies have found evidence of resveratrol triggering apoptosis of activated T cells and suppressing growth of tumors, in addition to acting against cancer.
Resveratrol side effects
Resveratrol has a relatively low level of toxicity. Up to 5 grammes per day, it is comparatively well tolerated. According to studies, taking greater amounts can result in nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal problems. However, even larger levels cannot be obtained only through diet and must typically be obtained through the use of supplements.