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Health See other Health Articles Title: Resveratrol - antioxident value Some Harvard-educated researchers believe they’ve discovered a proverbial ‘fountain of youth’.* They’re talking about resveratrol, calling it a miracle ingredient, and the greatest discovery since antibiotics.* Resveratrol is a compound found in the skin and seeds of grapes. Researchers have been mystified for years about how the French can smoke cigarettes and eat high-fat foods, yet still have extremely low rates of cancer and heart disease. They call it the French paradox. Harvard researchers Dr. Christoph Westphal and David Sinclair conducted genetic research to investigate the French paradox. Until now, scientists believed drinking red wine had health benefits*… but couldn’t put their finger on exactly why. Now they believe the resveratrol in wine activates cells into behaving more youth-like in a number of ways.* The biggest hurdle with resveratrol is finding a way to consume the large concentrations required to provide you with a benefit. You’d need several bottles of wine per day to get the anticipated benefit from resveratrol. Drinking large amounts of wine or other alcoholic beverages will increase your insulin levels, which will eventually have a negative impact on your health in a number of ways. I’ll tell you in a minute how you can get your highly-concentrated resveratrol without the alcohol, sugars and calories of red wine. But first, let’s discuss how to control your free radical levels… Neutralizing the Free Radical Threat Every day of your life you face exposure to dangerous free radicals. No matter how healthy a lifestyle you lead or how healthy your diet is, this is simply a fact of life. Fortunately this is not all bad – as your normal bodily functions (breathing, metabolism, and physical activity) naturally generate free radicals. Your immune system also generates free radicals to help neutralize viruses and bacteria. But some free radicals are the result of environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, pesticides, and cigarette smoking. The problem starts when these free radicals attack your healthy cells and cause them to weaken and become more susceptible to health disorders. Plus, this can also have a profound effect on how you age. sidebar An All Natural Source of Resveratrol Purple Defense contains 50 mg of Resveratrol per serving. With an overall 3,500 ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value per capsule, Purple Defense capsules provide a powerful natural antioxidant blend. The ORAC value for Purple Defense is achieved by using the most sophisticated and accurate equipment possible. The machine is a fluorescence microplate reader (Fluoroskan Ascent FL). ORAC values can easily be inflated with any machine though. Using an ethanol solvent will artificially inflate the ORAC value. That's why each batch is testing using an acetone/water solvent. So you can rest assured that you're actually getting 3,500 in each dose. sidebar But as part of normal functioning, your body is capable of keeping free radicals in check and naturally neutralizing them, unless you… * Eat a diet consisting mostly of processed junk food * Cut corners on getting enough sleep on a daily basis * Ignore your need for regular exercise * Find yourself under a great deal of stress * Expose yourself to a high number of environmental free radicals Exposing your body to these types of conditions may overwhelm it with free radicals and cause damage. Plus, free radical damage accumulates with age. So, the longer your lifestyle and environment expose you to this damage, the greater your consequences as you age… the greater potential consequences to your overall aging process. So what can you do? Well, first of all, it would be helpful to address the unhealthy habits listed above. Additionally, consider going the next step and find ways to fortify your healthy diet with antioxidant rich food. I’m sure you’re well aware of the benefits of antioxidants from all the discussion on my site. I’ve spent literally decades researching this topic and cannot stress their importance to you enough. Antioxidants provide your body with natural protection against free radicals and help you neutralize and keep them under control. Why Organic Food is Your Best Choice for Natural Free Radical Protection grape fruitsThere are many sources of antioxidants available to help boost your health. Most of these sources come directly from consumption of high quality, fresh, organic and preferably locally grown vegetables and fruits. But there is a catch. The catch is that, to get the most potent antioxidant content from the fruits and vegetables – they need to be organically grown and processed. Here’s why. Research shows that certain organically grown fruits and vegetables have significantly higher levels of potent antioxidants than traditionally grown foods. The key to all this is a large family of natural antioxidant compounds called polyphenols. Polyphenols exist in plant floods and their contribution to the antioxidant capacity of the human diet is much larger than even that of vitamins. And a subclass of this antioxidant-rich family found in fruits and vegetables is flavonoids. In response to environmental stressors like insects and other competing plants, plants produce flavonoids with potent antioxidant activity. Unfortunately, conventional growing methods that use pesticides and herbicides hamper the production of flavonoids. Plants exposed to pesticides and herbicides have less of a need to produce such compounds. And therefore, these plants produce fewer antioxidants than organically grown food. You don’t want to miss out on polyphenol flavonoids because they can: * Improve your memory and concentration * Boost the effectiveness of vitamin C in your antioxidant network * Regulate nitric oxide – a potent free radical that regulates your blood flow * Help promote your healthy heart * Bolster your immune system So, to take advantage of the highest potency flavonoids and rich antioxidants, always choose organically grown fruits and vegetables. Fresh organic foods are important not only for what they give you, higher levels of antioxidants and nutrients, but also for what they don’t give you… exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and non-organic fertilizers. Now let’s take a closer look at some common and not so common food sources of antioxidants – keeping in mind that for you to receive the highest antioxidant potential, organic is best. Consumer Alert: Berries are a Great Source of Antioxidants, but Watch Out for the Sugar sidebar fresh pricked grapes sidebar A specific polyphenol flavonoid compound called quercetin is a potent dietary antioxidant found in certain berries: lingonberries, cranberries, bilberries, and black currants. Not only do berries contain many flavonoids like quercetin, but also fiber… vitamin C… and other nutritious antioxidant-rich polyphenol compounds. Ideally, berries should be eaten raw and as you already know – organic is best. Another great source of antioxidants in berries is from blueberries. In fact, Europeans recognize their bilberries as blueberries. Only a few years ago, the USDA Human Nutrition Center (HNRCA) ranked blueberries #1 in antioxidant activity. This research compared 40 other fresh vegetables and fruits. This is all great but there is a red flag I have to raise – watch out for too much sugar. If you overdo your fruit consumption, even berries, you risk releasing too much sugar into your system. This could cause your insulin levels to rise and eventually your health could worsen instead of improving. So, moderation is the key when eating fruit. Choosing fruit relatively low in sugar, like blueberries, should not only boost your antioxidant intake but help keep your insulin levels in check as well. Eat Your Veggies for Healthy Antioxidants – but Which Ones? Broccoli, greens, beans, artichokes, and onions, to name a few, are good sources of polyphenol flavonoids. And of course, raw organic vegetables help you maximize the antioxidant benefits. However, just like you need to be careful on how much and the types of fruit you eat, the same holds true with vegetables. For example, from the USDA Human Nutrition Center research, potatoes ranked high on the list of vegetables with potent antioxidant content. But they are not necessarily your best choice because they may cause increased insulin levels. In order to determine the amount of fruits and vegetables your body requires, I recommend you first determine your Nutritional Type™ (NT). You see, foods and individual nutrients do not behave the same way in two people with different Nutritional Types. Your Nutritional Type determines your individual nutritional requirements and dictates your individual responses to what you eat and drink. Please check my site for more details on how to determine your NT. It’s well worth your time. Here’s a great table showing examples of fruits and vegetables along with their polyphenol content. Remember, polyphenols are natural antioxidant compounds that help you neutralize free radical damage. This table also shows another beneficial subclass of polyphenols called phenolic acids. Polyphenol Content in Selected Vegetables and Fruits Polyphenol Polyphenol Content Range Source (serving size) Subclass per Serving size (mg/serving) Vegetables: Yellow onion (100g) Flavonoids 35-120 Broccoli (200g) Flavonoids 8-20 Leek (200g) Flavonoids 6-45 Artichoke (100g) Phenolic acids 45 Potato (200g) Phenolic acids 20-38 Fruits Blueberry (100g) Flavonoids 25-500 Black Currant (100g) Flavonoids 130-400 Blackberry (100g) Flavonoids 100-400 Strawberry (200g) Flavonoids 30-150 Plum (200g) Phenolic acids 28-230 Note: Table adapted from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Why Not Add a Little Spice to Your Life and Health? spices and gingerA bountiful source of antioxidants that many people don’t know about is herbs and spices. Researchers within the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered that herbs are an abundant source of antioxidants – not to mention how they make your food tastier. According to the research, on a per gram fresh weight basis, oregano and other herbs ranked even higher in antioxidant activity than certain fruits and vegetables. In comparing antioxidant activity against a few selected fruits and vegetables, oregano came out on top with: * 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples… * 30 times more than potatoes… * 12 times more than oranges And there are other herbs and spices that pack an antioxidant punch as well: cloves… turmeric… cinnamon… garlic… basil… and curcumin… to name a few. Herbs and spices have emerged as a quick and convenient way for you to get a concentrated source of antioxidants – without all the extra calories of many foods. Now, your key to taking advantage of the antioxidant activity from herbs and spices is to find an organic source and consume them fresh and raw. For example, the antioxidant activity of fresh garlic is 1.5 times higher than dry garlic powder. Just as consuming too much of any food product can carry health risks, herbs should be used with moderation… and only as a complement to your healthy diet. So, add a little seasoning and spice to your life and feel good about the antioxidant benefits they provide you. Heard gal author on the radio (didn't get her name) say resveratrol worked great in tests in mice but now found not the same for humans, So unless you get some mouse genes spliced into your DNA... Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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