The Red Wine Secrets of the French Paradox

American scientists and other health experts from around the world are puzzled as they try to discover the "secret" behind the French Paradox. The problem is that the French consume three times as much saturated fat as Americans and one-third less French people die from heart attacks. The French also have much less obesity than America and other Western countries.

The French eat rich foods high in saturated fats, such as cream, butter, pastry and rich cheeses. But they also consume red wine and olive oil. Researchers have found olive oil to be a heart-healthy source of fat. However, the olive oil the French consume does not rule out the high amounts of saturated fats they eat, and therefore does not properly explain the French paradox.

Red wine may be the reason. Some scientists believe the French habit of moderate red wine drinking with a meal is the key to French paradox. Studies show that people who drink red wine regularly have lower rates of cancer, Alzheimers, and heart disease.

Red wine and red grapes contain special flavinoid antioxidants called resveratrol, that can offset some of the effects of gluttony, say researchers at Harvard Medical School. Resveratrol is shown to help lower glucose levels, help your liver, and promote health benefits to the heart and blood vessels.

Red grapes are one of the richest sources of resveratrol flavonoids, which is why red wine is more heart-healthy than white wine, beer, or other spirits.

Resveratrol is known for its ability to protect plants from bacteria and fungi, and researchers are now finding out that it helps us by preventing the negative effects of high-calorie diets, and it has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer potential.

Researchers are finding that antioxidants seem to trigger receptors in your upper intestine that tell your brain you're full, researcers are finding. Lab animals fed the extracts also decreased their food intake by about 8%. This could explain why Resveratrol- a powerful antioxidant- seems to produce a weight loss effect that many people's experience when they use it.

One recent study showed that resveratrol reverses the coronary and obesity effects of a diet high in fat and calories in mice. When large doses of resveratrol was given to lab mice, the mice ran twice as far on a treadmill than they had previously and also had a reduced heart rate. The mice also lived longer than mice who had not received the resveratrol.

The findings led to a marked increase in red wine sales in the United States despite the fact that the amount of resveratrol is very small in most red wines in the United States, because of the way that most grapes are grown and processed for wine.

If you are ready to add these beneficial nutrients to your diet, it's important that you find a source that is powerful, natural and bio-available (easily absorbed and used by your body).

I found a great whole food supplement that includes these ingredients. It is called Genesis™ from Symmetry Direct. Each single ounce of Genesis™ is guaranteed to contain the health benefits of resveratrol equivalent to one whole bottle of red wine, plus the hydroxylated polyphenols found in one fresh pomegranate.