Resveratrol From Red Wine

More evidence shows benefits of taking Resveratrol supplements – the anti-aging antioxidant derived from red wine.

A meta-study at the University of Florida showed that resveratrol appeared to have anti-aging, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

The study aimed to collate all knowledge to date about the effects of resveratrol, and covered thousands of laboratory studies. This important task often serves to point out the general direction of a body of research: and the general direction of this research seems to point in the direction of supplementing with resveratrol.

Up to now, there have been few human studies involving resveratrol: so its benefits are not yet certain. Nearly all the studies have been on animals. But the potential benefits of resveratrol are undeniable.

The authors make the point that the apparent ability of resveratrol to lessen human frailties will become more important as 76 million baby boomers in the USA alone head towards older age.

University of Florida news article

Related Articles About Red Wine And Resveratrol

• Recent Study – Red Wine Helps Prevent Heart Disease (lizpalmer.wordpress.com)
• Red wine, grapes and nuts can fight radiation sickness (news.bioscholar.com)
• Researchers evaluate red wine compound for treating concussions in pro boxers (sciencedaily.com)
• Resveratrol and Weight Loss (brianeraines.wordpress.com)

More Evidence For Resveratrol Health Boost is a post from: Living To 150

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3. More Antioxidants – Use Lemon In Tea

Blueberries and Osteoporosis

Recent research has shown that antioxidants in blueberries seem to have benefits for treating osteoporosis. Rats who were fed a diet containing 10% blueberries were found to have significantly greater bone mass than those without the blueberry-enriched diet.

This is good news, because it suggests that blueberries may be a powerful supplement in the prevention of osteoporosis – a disease affecting millions, especially women, in the Western world.

The blood of the blueberry-fed rats was found to be high in phenolic acids which are known to derive from polyphenols – the main antioxidant component of blueberries. And this phenolic acid is thought to be the factor which strengthened the bones.

Certainly, whatever your state of health, blueberries provide powerful nutrition for the body. The possible encouragement of good bone health indicated by this study is just one more reason to pack blueberries into your diet.

Related Articles on Blueberrries and Osteoporosis

• Blueberries Help Lab Rats Build Strong Bones (scienceblog.com)
• What are the Health Benefits of Blueberry Juice? (sunnysidelane.org)

Blueberries’ Antioxidants May Help Osteoporosis is a post from: Living To 150

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1. More Antioxidants – Use Lemon In Tea

Green Tea - Better With Lemon

A recent study has shown that if you add citrus juice to your green tea, its benefits are multiplied.

The study, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research found that lemons, in particular, prolonged the life of the catechins in green tea. Catechins are the naturally occurring antioxidant in green tea, which gives the tea its benefits.

The benefit of the lemon was huge. Normally, after digestion of green tea, only 20% of the catechins remain to be absorbed into the blood. Using lemon in the tea, 80% remained.

So, although these results were preliminary, it seems a good bet that adding some lemon juice to your green tea is likely to magnify its benefits.

Lemon juice is very good for you in other ways to: so adding it your green tea can only help anyway.

I have my green tea two or three times a day – in my insulated cup I was given at Dr Terry Grossman’s anti-aging clinic in Denver, when I visited him in 2009. That reminds me of that trip. So it will be easy for me to add in some lemon juice – in fact, I will start tomorrow!

Related Articles On Lemons and Green Tea

• Consume Green Tea Is Valuable To your Wellbeing (tracetech.wordpress.com)
• Green Tea Sets Positive Epigenetic Reactions (georgefebish.wordpress.com)
• Fascinating Power of Lemon – Healing Properties and Benefits (socyberty.com)

More Antioxidants – Use Lemon In Tea is a post from: Living To 150

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Scientists have ‘modified’ tomatoes to make them purple. They have done this by modifying them genetically such that they contain anthocyanins. 

Anthocyanins are a type of a class of substance called flavonoids, which show anti-oxidant activity. Flavonoids produce yellow, red or blue colouration in flowers and fruit. They also offer protection against insects and microbes.

Anthocyanins in particular produce a purple colouration, usually in fruit. Fruits containing anthocyanins include the Vaccinium species – such as bilberries and blueberries and the Rubus species – such as blackberry and raspberry.

Antioxidant Properties Help Indirectly

The first lesson we learn about antioxidants is that they ‘mop up’ free radicals – the oxygen-robbing substances which begin or accelerate cancer, heart disease and aging. However, although anthocyanins – and the flavonoids in general – are antioxidants, the way they help us is not by mopping up free radicals directly. Their benefits are indirect.

Particularly, in some way anthocyanins and flavonoids stimulate phase II of the important two phase liver-detox process. The enhanced Phase II then carries out its normal function of eliminating toxins from the body with extra power.

In this way our DNA can be protected, for example, reducing the likelihood of cancer starting.

Eat Purple Tomatoes – Or Stick With Blueberries?

So – do you want tomatoes modified to be purple; or would you prefer just to stick with eating purple berries which grow naturally?

A purple tomato seems to me to be much like taking an anthocyanin supplement. It has to be easier to get people – eg family members who are not great on fruit and vegetables – to eat tomatoes than to eat blackberries and blueberries every day. Let’s have the choice.

The scientists say at least here is a direct consumer benefit of genetic modification, rather than one designed purely to make money.

Science Daily Article

Purple Tomatoes – Modified For Health is a post from: Living To 150

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Antioxidants have been recognized as vital for good health since the early 1980s. However, one class of antioxidant is particularly beneficial: the poyphenols.

Polyphenols are particularly beneficial for reducing the risk of heart disease as well as for reducing aging tendencies in general.

Professor Williamson, Professor of Function Foods at Leeds University, has published a list of 20 common foods which are particularly high in polyphenols.

The list is:

• Berries:
  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Cranberries
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries
• Apples
• Oranges
• Red Grapes (and red wine)
• Cherries
• Peaches
• Plums
• Broccoli
• Cereal bran
• Cherry tomatoes
• Red onions
• Spinach
• Black tea
• Green tea
• Coffee
• Dark chocolate

Caution

The benefit of dark chocolate will be partly outweighed (sorry about this…) by the sugar content.

Similarly, apples, oranges, cherries, peaches and plums can all be high in sugar so this must be born in mind when eating these foods, as sugar promotes glycation among other things.

Black tea is not so good if taken with milk (eg the omega 6 fatty acids present in high amounts in dairy foods promote inflammation, and need to be minimized in the diet).

However, all things in moderation 

‘Newspaper’ article from the Mail Online

Antioxidants Crucial For Health is a post from: Living To 150

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