Your Great Abs

Posts Tagged ‘supplements’

There has to be a reason why people in some countries live longer than others, and this has generally been found to be because of their lifestyle. Studies have been conducted to find out why this is so and resveratrol has been found to be one of the major reasons why people live longer and suffer from fewer life threatening diseases.

We all know that when we want to learn something the best way to learn it is from a role model or mentor. The same applies if you want to live longer; look at what some of the most aged people on the planet do and emulate their lifestyles.

However this might not be the wisest path to take if you look at one of the longest recorded living person on the planet. This was a French woman aged 122, when she died in 2001, she did not exercise or live a clean life, in fact she both smoked and drank alcohol her entire life. Now we are not advocating that you start smoking and drinking like Jean Calumet, but you must admit that there are some good questions to be asked regarding hers, and other centenarian lifestyles.

What exactly is it which transfers longevity to these people? One of the most important discoveries to arise in modern times is the fact that drinking red wine is very good for good health. According to Dr. Oz, who regularly appears on Oprah there are two reasons for this, one is alcohol and the other is resveratrol.

Resveratrol is a very strong anti-oxidant and the best possible place to receive your supplies of this anti-oxidant is red wine. The concentrations are much higher in red win because wine makers use the skins, seeds and other grape material to make it. Resveratrol is found in the fruit, stems, roots and skins of the grape. The highest concentrations are found in the skin. White wine drinkers, receive no resveratrol benefit from their drink of choice as it is made in a different way.

This substance has been found by scientists to trigger a gene in the human body which has anti-ageing properties. In clinical tests it has been shown to reduce the ability of cancers, fungus, bacteria and other hostile agents to reproduce. The grape manufactures resveratrol to protect itself from the hostile environment in which it grows. The cellular chemistry of plants is very sophisticated, as they grow and reproduce.

To enjoy the full benefits of this substance it is important to drink red wine, the benefit lies 80% in the alcohol and 20% in this active ingredient. It is the combination of these two factors which are best. However if you don’t take to alcohol or it doesn’t take to you, you are able to receive some benefit from drinking dark grape juice, or taking resevratrol supplements, although these supplements are still undergoing FDA trials.

With alcohol and drinking per se, the key to actually obtaining benefit is moderation. People like me are in trouble, because when I open a bottle of red wine, I have to finish it, and this is where resveratrol supplements may come in handy. To get the benefits of resveratrol – as reviewed on Oprah, Dr. Oz recommends one glass of red wine a day, but he doesn’t say how big the glass should be! Men may drink a little more as they have a better ability to metabolize alcohol than women.

Research has shown that a traditional Mediterranean diet provides assistance in protecting the body from type 2 diabetes.

The composites of what make the Mediterranean diet so perfect against type 2 is it is robust in olive oil, grains, nuts vegetables, and fish yet it is low in meat, alcohol, and dairy products.

The current studies are showing that the body has a positive effect in regards to cardiovascular disease when a diet such as the one explained is implemented.

Researchers gathered 13,000 graduates from the University of Navarra in Spain with no history of diabetes and recruited between December 1999 and November 2007; each graduate had their dietary habits and health were subsequently tracked.

To start the study off, the graduates all completed a questionnaire designed by the developers of the project. The questions were summarized at 136 and asked the participants specific questions that related to how they cooked, what types of oils they used, and their dietary supplements.

The participants were then notified every two years by a questionnaire that asked each about their diet, lifestyle, and other medical conditions. From this information, researchers were able to pick up new cases of diabetes

The researchers found that participants who stuck closely to the diet had a lower risk of diabetes. A high adherence to the diet was associated with an 83% relative reduction in the risk of developing diabetes.

Interestingly, those participants who stuck strictly to the diet also were thought to have the highest risk factors for diabetes, premature aging, a family history of diabetes, and a higher proportion of ex-smokers.

This was not the case. In fact, they had a lower risk of diabetes, suggesting that the diet might provide substantial protection.

The primary compounds of the diet include a high intake of fiber, vegetable fat, trans fatty acids, and a moderate intake of alcohol.

A key element of the diet is the abundant use of virgin oil for cooking, frying, spreading on bread, and dressing salads.

The scientist finished by calling for larger cohorts and trials to confirm their findings.