Resveratrol Antioxidant Properties Explained

Researchers believe resveratrol works as an antioxidant by reducing the amount of damage to the body’s DNA caused by toxins in the air, water, and food. It could have anti-cancer properties by blocking the formation and growth of tumors and boosting the immune system. One animal study showed resveratrol lowered the risk of prostate cancer in mice given a powdered form of the substance.

Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in a group of plant chemicals known as polyphenols. It occurs naturally in grapes, certain berries, and peanuts. Higher levels of the substance are found in red wine, but medical experts don’t recommend increasing the consumption of alcohol to obtain health benefits. In fact, the Mayo Clinic estimates a person would have to drink more than 60 liters of red wine a day to get sufficient amounts of resveratrol to improve health. Taking resveratrol in supplement form represents a more logical choice to reap the antioxidant benefits of the polyphenol.

Simply drinking wine won’t necessarily increase the amount of resveratrol consumed. Different wines contain lower levels of the antioxidant depending on where the grapes grow and the way they are processed. Filtering to remove bitterness from the beverage also depletes much of the resveratrol. When grape skins are removed to ferment white wine, it also removes the health benefits because the antioxidant is found in the skins. Most wines that are mass-produced contain very little of the substance because filtering is necessary when wine is not permitted to age naturally.

Since the discovery in the 1970s that free radicals cause disease, news about antioxidants became all the rage. It helps to understand how antioxidants work to protect the body from disease. Oxidation occurs naturally in the human body as it metabolizes food for energy. The immune system also produces oxidation when infection invades the body as a natural defense against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The body contains natural antioxidants to keep free radicals, defined as unstable molecules that attach to cells and damage DNA, in check.

Problems occur because people in today’s modern world consume diets consisting of fast foods, prepackaged food, and diets lacking in foods that are rich in natural antioxidants capable of neutralizing free radicals in the body. Free radicals also come from chemicals in cleaning products, cosmetics, cigarette smoke, and a wide range of products used daily. This exposure increases the number of unstable molecules entering the body, throwing off its ability to counteract the higher number of free radicals.

Resveratrol aids the body in fighting free radicals that are known to cause disease. It has shown effective in lowering the risk of infection, preventing cancer, and reducing the incidence of macular degeneration, an eye disease linked to aging. This antioxidant might also strengthen the immune system to enhance the ability to ward off infection. Studies reveal the antioxidant properties of resveratrol also reduce inflammation in the lining of blood vessels and prevent abnormal clots from forming, which represent two main factors in the risk for heart disease.