A little About Resveratrol - Nature's Little Miracle...
What is resveratrol? Though many have heard about this compound, very few of us in fact understand the mechanics of how it works within the human body, and what can be gained from ingesting it. To understand if resveratrol is actually safe for people to use, we first have to understand just what it is. It turns out that resveratrol is actually a polyphenol compound that is to be found in specific vines, grapes, peanuts, pine trees and even other kinds of plants. As far as dietary sources go, red wine is actually the most common dietary source of this polyphenol compound. However, the picture of resveratrol gets more complicated than just this.
Resveratrol is sourced primarily from the Polygonnum cuspidatum plant, and is used as a major componant in some traditional, Asian medications that are meant to improve a person’s heart and liver conditions. Resveratrol is also marketed as something of a miracle antioxidant, and life extender that is very trendy and “in” these days. Don’t believe me? As a matter of fact, if you simply happen to google the word “resveratrol,” you will actually be stunned that you will get something close to 6 million results.
So now, after this brief introduction to resveratrol, we have to revisit the original question: Is it safe to use and to take? The Los Angeles Times offers some thoughts with regard to this question. Resveratrol is essentially a plant extract that makes it similar to aspirin, in that sense. However, in contrast to aspirin, resveratrol is actually classified as a dietary supplement instead of a drug, which means that it is both made and marketed by an industry that works under a lot less harsh government oversight than the firms creating pharmaceutical drugs.
The thing about supplement manufacturers is that they are allowed by law to refer to animal research that seems to link their products to certain curative strengths. They are also permitted under law to imply that their dietary products are able to support or even improve the workings of healthy bodily processes. However, that is as far as supplement manufacturers—including those ones who market resveratrol—can go. For example, they are not allowed under law to disseminate any direct claims that their dietary supplements will actually cure or treat sicknesses in human beings.
In essence, at this point, the jury is still out with regard to whether resveratrol is actually safe to use in people—despite the fact that many people are already helping themselves to this dietary supplement and oftentimes in quite big doses. The reason that the jury is still out hangs on the fact that there have, to date, not yet been any long-range toxicity as well as safety studies on resveratrol. You read that right: There have not yet been any long-range toxicity as well as safety studies performed on resveratrol. In essence, the people who are taking this dietary supplement today are doing so at their own risk. Still, I have used resveratrol in the past & do so even nowam have found it to be a positive supplement - so use your own intuition and see how you go.
Still, it has to be pointed out that things are moving closer and closer to these long-range toxicity and safety studies with regard to resveratrol. According to the Los Angeles Times, some of these studies are already underway today, but due to the long-range nature of them, it will actually take several years before the results of these studies are actually known.
So where does this leave people today who are curious about resveratrol or already taking this dietary supplement? It leaves them in a position of uncertainty and a lot of faith in the supplement, seeing as how no real proof yet exists that it is safe for people to consume.