Resveratrol is becoming one of the most popular health supplements in the world. It has been featured on talk shows and news programs. It has been studied extensively and some doctors think that it may help you live longer. In fact, it is being researched to cure many diseases that are associated with aging with the hopes that it can slow or even reverse the aging process in people. While the theories are far from being proven, the initial research is very encouraging.

Resveratrol supplements are being touted as the fountain of youth.  Stay with me for a few minutes and learn why some think this could be the biggest breakthrough in medicine ever discovered.

Resveratrol is a compound found in foods and plants. Some plants produce it in response to infection or injury where it acts almost like an antibiotic. It can be produced from Japanese knotweed which is where some resveratrol supplements come from.

Below is a list of some common food sources and the amount of resveratrol in a serving (150mL of drinks or 1 cup of food).

• Spanish Red Wines - 0.29 to 1.89 mg
• Spanish White Wines - 0.01 to 0.27 mg
• Spanish Grape Juice - 0.17 to 1.30 mg
• Boiled Peanuts - 0.32 to 1.28 mg
• Peanut Butter - 0.04 to 0.13 mg
• Red Grapes - 0.24 to 1.25 mg

Resveratrol comes from the skin of red grapes which is why red wines have more than white wines. Spanish grapes also appear to have a slightly higher level of resveratrol so wines and juices from other parts of the world may have a little less, but it varies so sometimes Spanish grapes are better and sometimes they aren't.

The foods listed above may be healthy for you for different reasons, but if you are eating them for their resveratrol content, none of them really measure up.  Some of the resveratrol supplements available have up to 500 mg per serving which is about 500 times more powerful than any food.

There is still a lot of research that needs to be done, but so far studies have used concentrations of resveratrol that you will find in a supplement that would be impractical if not impossible to get from food or beverages.  Things may change as more research is done, but for now it looks like you will need to take a supplement to get the benefits researchers think is possible.

According to a report published on WebMD, new research with resveratrol indicates that this antioxant may help you fight fat. Initially, resveratrol was tested on lab mice that were eating a high calorie diet. The resveratrol seemed to prevent a lot of the health problems from obesity that these mice should have had. A follow up study using human fat cells showed that pre-fat cells did not develop into mature fat cells and even decreased in number while the control sample doubled.

I am not a doctor and have not had any medical training.  I am not making any health or medical recommendations.  You need to contact your doctor for any health or medical advice.  Also, I do operate other websites including some of those linked to in this article.  If you click on a link on those sites, I may be compensated if you make a purchase.