Resveratrol Supplements May Help Prevent Breast Cancer
Resveratrol has been the topic of numerous scientific studies and has been featured on prominent news programs like 60 Minutes. According to an article published by WebMD, resveratrol may help prevent breast cancer.
Resveratrol is an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, red wines, and red grape juices. It is also found in peanuts and some berries like cranberries and blueberries. It is also becoming popular as a health supplement.
One of the risk factors for breast cancer is exposure to estrogen. If the body’s system for handling estrogen gets out of balance, high levels of estrogen can interact with cells and cause tumors to start growing.
Research that was done at the University of Nebraska has shown that resveratrol can decrease the effect that estrogen has on causing tumor growth. It also increases the production of an enzyme that destroys dangerous estrogen particles. This could mean that resveratrol stops breast cancer before it gets started, at least what is caused by excess estrogen.
For the laboratory tests, relatively low levels of resveratrol were used to produce the desired results. Further testing is required to determine what amount of supplement would need to be taken to produce this level in the blood, but since it is a low level, researchers are hopeful that this can easily be accomplished
In short, their research shows that resveratrol may stop the first step of the process that leads to breast cancer that is caused by increased estrogen levels. These tests were done in a test tube and show promising results, but much more research needs to be done before it can be proved that it actually prevents breast cancer in women.
Much of the information in this article was taken from a report published on WebMD at webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20080707/resveratrol-may-prevent-breast-cancer. Although many health claims have been made for resveratrol by researchers, the benefits of taking this supplement have not been formally tested in definitive clinical trials so please do your own research before deciding if resveratrol supplements are right for you.
Resveratrol Supplements May Help You Control Body Fat
Resveratrol has recently been featured on news programs and talk shows for its potential to help you live a longer and healthier life. Research also shows that it may help you fight the build up of fat cells in your body.
Resveratrol is an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, peanuts, and some berries like blueberries and cranberries. Since it is in the skin of red grapes, it is also found in products made from red grapes like red wine and grape juice.
One study involved lab mice being fed a high calorie diet. The mice that were taking resveratrol supplements did not suffer from the health problems associated with obesity. The effects were similar to tests being done with a concept called caloric restriction which has been studied in other tests.
Based on the success of the trials with mice, human fat cells were used to see how they responded. The results from this test showed that human fat cells decreased when exposed to resveratrol while the control sample doubled. This is consistent with the French Paradox theory that says red wine (possibly because of the resveratrol) allows French people to eat a high fat diet and not have many of the health benefits traditionally associated with that.
Much more testing needs to be done to validate these findings, but these initial studies show promise. Pharmaceutical companies are already trying to mimic these effects with drugs. For now, you can get resveratrol as a health supplement which just may help you lose fat and live longer.
Resveratrol Video
Resveratrol may be the worlds next super food. Tons of research is being done and early indications are that this compound found in red wine may extend life, prevent disease, and increase the overall health and wellbeing of anybody who takes it.
Below is a vidoe from 60 minutes. Hope this helps educate you as it has me.
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