There are so many vitamin and mineral supplements that one or two important ones can get overlooked. This is certainly the case for resveratrol, which, though most commonly associated with wine, has many benefits to your fitness, mental wellness, vision and overall wellbeing.
Endurance training is enough to put anyone off exercise altogether, but resveratrol could help to enhance your results. In 2012, a Canadian study found that resveratrol supplementation could give you similar skeletal muscle benefits to endurance training. Combining the two resulted in a performance increase of 21%, but even on its own resveratrol increased endurance and oxidative metabolism, and enhanced cardiac function.
Another Canadian study discovered that if you drink one to two five-ounce glasses of wine per day, you can reduce your risk of developing atherosclerotic disease, a precursor to heart disease and stroke, which means that you subsequently reduce your risk of death by roughly 30%. Experts explain that resveratrol preconditions your heart and provides it with the best protection to avoid cardiac events.
But it’s not just heart disease that resveratrol protects you from. According to a recent French study, resveratrol, which can be found naturally in blueberries, peanuts, grapes, and both red and white wines, can slow down the production of cancerous cells and therefore could be considered an effective anticancer agent.
Also, vision loss is a normal part of getting older, but according to a study by Missouri researchers, resveratrol has the ability to counteract this common occurrence. Resveratrol can regulate angiogenesis, which prevents the abnormal growth of blood vessels that are damaging to eyesight. Further, for men, resveratrol may be an option if your doctor tells you that your testosterone needs a boost. A Korean study managed to improve blood testosterone concentration in mice by more than 50% following a 28-day period of resveratrol consumption.
Finally, resveratrol not only benefits your body, but also your mind, as a study here in the UK found that neurological blood flow was increased following resveratrol consumption. Blood flow boosts your brain power, and another study, this time in Illinois, gave mice resveratrol supplements and this improved their memory function and overall mental performance. So whether it’s a new supplement you want to add to your regime, or you just want another excuse for drinking wine, it seems that resveratrol could be your wellness-boosting new best friend.
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