A natural by product of red wine has been discovered to increase life expectancy. It is called Resveratol, and comes from the skin of red grapes. It may now be possible to age gracefully. And all without the reliance on harsh chemical treatments or surgery. The French have enjoyed the fruits of resveratrol for decades, by enjoying the company of red wine.

All the major pharmaceutical manufactures are putting resveratrol supplements into production. The studies thus far into resveratrol have been concerned only with worms, flies and mice. On one of these studies it was found out that by taking the substance, worms and fish had a 60% increased life span and flies had increased theirs by 30%.

From the National Institute of Aging at Harvard Medical School, Dr Rafael de Cabo concluded that, resveratrol countered most of the side effects of the highly calorific diet that the mice were fed. The high calorie diet caused them no adverse health effects.

Resveratrol is not only of interest to the anti aging market. It has also been linked to the combat of diabetes and cancer. Although all research is still in its infancy, natural antioxidants like this may be the only way to effectively treat aging, cancer and diabetes in the future.

Once more nature may have provided the key to another breakthrough in science. Now resveratrol, a phytoalexin in red wine may be the answer to a major threat to every nation, obesity. The mice in the study where fed what is the equivalent to a large section of societies’ actual diets, highly saturated fats. This did not cause them to die sooner.

In diabetes patients it has been discovered that resveratrol prevents cancerous pancreatic cells from reaching the bodies energy cells or mitochondria, and destroying them. The research was carried out by The University of Rochester. More research has to be carried out on the effect resveratrol has on humans.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding new wonder supplements and their claims. Most of them have just alluded to slightly promoting their cause. Resveratrol really hit the headlines after statistics revealed that a large percentage of France’s occupants eat a highly saturated fat and high calorie diet, yet the instance of heart disease is lower than that of America’s.

What does the future hold for resveratrol? Since it’s a naturally occurring product, it’s not going to disappear anywhere fast. So far the tests have been positive. It may not be able to claim the fountain of youth status yet, but one thing resveratrol has got going for it, is that it is a natural compound. That’s something to brag about, especially in an age of Frankenstein science.