Hormone Balance & Health: The Natural Solution

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The Multifaceted Benefits of Resveratrol

This natural substance safely increases testosterone and keeps estrogen in check while improving overall health markers.

You can increase testosterone and control estrogen with a certain natural plant compound, but let's focus first on something more important: improving your health so you'll have plenty of high-T years to enjoy. Resveratrol (Buy at Amazon) helps with both objectives.

The World Health Organization (WHO) figures that around 50% of premature deaths occur because of non-communicable diseases. About 75% of those deaths are directly attributable to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and respiratory illness.

We could reduce that percentage by just eating more fruits and vegetables. While their vitamin and mineral content certainly has life-extending benefits, the polyphenols they contain are even more important. Polyphenols are a large subclass of phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables.

There are a few individual polyphenols with bushels of research on them, perhaps none more than resveratrol, a polyphenol found chiefly in the skin of grapes, red wine, and berries. In addition to having several health-enhancing attributes, resveratrol also has several physique-enhancing abilities, including the ability to lower estrogen levels while increasing testosterone levels.

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Resveratrol Increases Testosterone and More

Here are a few of the things science has discovered about resveratrol:

  • Resveratrol increases testosterone levels. A Korean study found that it increases levels of testosterone, along with improving sperm quality and motility.
  • Resveratrol acts as a potent estrogen antagonist. At the same time, it acts as an agonist in some tissues, similar to the drugs clomiphene and tamoxifen. In higher concentrations, resveratrol even acts as an aromatase inhibitor. By parking its molecular body in estrogen's receptor sites, it blocks estrogen and even environmental estrogens (xenoestrogens) from initiating certain types of transcription, an example of which would be the growth of male breasts.
  • Resveratrol improves blood vessel flow. It does this by modulating levels of nitric oxide, which causes blood vessels to relax (which is also how many erectile dysfunction drugs work).
  • Resveratrol mimics calorie-restriction diets. You've read about how reducing your calorie intake to that of a squirrel on Weight Watchers has been theorized to delay aging. Well, the mechanism behind that aging-delay has to do with a protein called Sirtuin-1, whose job it is to promote efficient energy utilization. Cut calories and Sirtuin-1 levels go up and you live longer. Resveratrol has this same effect on Sirtuin-1 without cutting calories and has been shown in studies to extend the lifespan of several different species.
  • Resveratrol grows bigger muscles. One study shows that resveratrol makes muscle fibers grow longer and thicker. The researchers wrote that "…resveratrol could control proliferation, start the myogenic process, and induce hypertrophy."
  • Resveratrol improves insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal. Resveratrol lowers blood sugar in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics, increases glucose transport, improves insulin sensitivity, and protects pancreatic cells against inflammation.
  • Resveratrol fights cardiovascular disease. Several studies show resveratrol to be anti-atherosclerotic, anti-hypertensive, anti-myocardial ischemia, anti-stroke, and anti-heart failure in general. It does all these things by increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide, positively affecting cholesterol and lipid profiles, reducing C-reactive protein, and acting as a powerful anti-inflammatory.
  • Resveratrol stymies Alzheimer's. One of the things that contribute to Alzheimer's is excessive production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), and resveratrol weakens the damage from ROS, in addition to having anti-amyloidogenic properties (i.e., helping prevent the plaques).
  • Resveratrol hates cancer. Resveratrol inhibits cancer cell growth and apoptosis (cell death). It also protects against DNA damage that may lead to the development of cancers.
  • Resveratrol battles less common diseases, too. Numerous papers say that resveratrol shows considerable promise in treating diseases like Parkinson's, kidney and liver disease, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy, in addition to having anti-pathogenic properties.

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So Just Eat Fruit and Drink Wine?

While certain foods are rich in resveratrol, "rich" is a relative term. Take for instance a glass of red wine. On average, it contains anywhere from .2 to 2.0 mg. of resveratrol. Great, except that the average "therapeutic" dosage of resveratrol is considerably higher.

In fact, you'd have to drink around 33 bottles of wine to get a decent amount in your system, which seems a bit excessive. So, taking resveratrol in supplement form is the way to go.

Unlike most other polyphenols, resveratrol's absorption rate in the human digestive tract is about 70%, which is pretty high, but even so, the actual bioavailability of the substance is less than optimum because of its rapid metabolism in the intestines and liver.

That's why taking it in supplement form is better, particularly if that supplement has incorporated a way to improve its bioavailability. Biotest's Rez-V High Absorption Resveratrol (Buy at Amazon) contains pure resveratrol (about six times as much as many other brands) dissolved in a substance widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to enhance bioavailability.

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How Much Resveratrol Do I Need to Take?

It's difficult to come up with specific reference intakes. But an examination of the scientific literature suggests that 200 mg. a day works for general health purposes (one capsule of Rez-V (Buy at Amazon) contains 300 mg.), while doses of up to 600 mg. a day (taken all at once) might be necessary to build extra muscle, bind up estrogen, or have beneficial effects on the diseases/conditions listed above.

References

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  2. Juan ME, et al. "Trans-Resveratrol, a natural antioxidant from grapes, Increases sperm output in healthy rats." J Nutr. 2005 Apr;135(4):757-60.
  3. Bhat KP, et al. "Estrogenic and antiestrogenic properties of resveratrol in mammary tumor models." Cancer Res. 2001 Oct 15;61(20):7456-63.
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  5. Matsumura A, Ghosh A, Pope GS, Darbre PD. "Comparative study of oestrogenic properties of eight phytoestrogens in MCF7 human breast cancer cells." J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Apr;94(5):431-43.
  6. Bowers JL, et al. "Resveratrol acts as a mixed agonist/antagonist for estrogen receptors alpha and beta." Endocrinology. 2000 Oct;141(10):3657-67.
  7. Lu R, Serrero G. "Resveratrol, a natural product derived from grape, exhibits antiestrogenic activity and inhibits the growth of human breast cancer cells." J Cell Physiol. 1999 Jun;179(3):297-304.
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  10. Wang Y, et al. "The Red Wine Polyphenol Resveratrol Displays BI-Level Inhibition on Aromatase in Breast Cancer Cells." Toxicol Sci. 2006 Apr 11; E-Published Ahead of Print.
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  41. Yoo KM, et al. "Potent Inhibitory Effects of Resveratrol Derivatives on Progression of Prostate Cancer Cells." Arch Pharm (Weinheim). 2006 Apr 18;339(5):238-241
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  44. Kim YA, et al. "Antiproliferative effect of resveratrol in human prostate carcinoma cells." J Med Food. 2003 Winter;6(4):273-80.
  45. Stewart JR, Artime MC, O'Brian CA. "Resveratrol: a candidate nutritional substance for prostate cancer prevention." J Nutr. 2003 Jul;133(7 Suppl):2440S-2443S.
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As a 49 year old male and can only choose between the benefits of LongJack and Rez-V, which is better to go with?

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If your primary goal is a natural T boost, go with Omega-Man High Absorption Longjack.

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