Resveratrol – the French Paradox?
Resveratrol came from the French paradox. Health researchers wondered why the French, who love creamy sauces, foie gras, and similarly high-fat foods, tend to live as long as people with better eating habits.
The French have an equally strong taste for red wines that contain resveratrol, a chemical compound proven to extend the lives of yeast cultures and fruit flies, and which may have similarly beneficial effects on humans by lowering cholesterol levels.
Resveratrol is produced naturally by grapes to fight off fungal diseases that can take hold when it’s damp outside. Could these same properties extend human life? I’m sure this will be studied. For now resveratrol, some call it a ‘nutraceutical’, can be purchased in tablet form.
Resveratrol is found primarily on grape skins, it is almost nonexistent in most white wines, which are fermented only after the skins are removed. The same is true of some mass-produced red wines that are filtered to remove the tannins, which can make recently bottled wines taste bitter. But filtering also eliminates the resveratrol.
One or two small glasses of red wine with the supper meal will probably be give you your daily supply of the nutraceutical.