Vascular health, and thereby cardiac and cognitive functioning, may benefit from supplementation with the antioxidant compound found in red wine and red grapes.
Resveratrol, an antioxidant compound found abundantly in red wine and red grapes, exerts beneficial effects on the body’s circulatory function. Peter Howe, from University of South Australia (Australia), and colleagues studied a group of 28 obese men and women with mild hypertension (high blood pressure), who were given a daily supplement of 75mg resveratrol. After six weeks, the researchers observed that vasodilator functions, as measured by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), improved by 23%. The study authors explain that FMD is an accepted parameter for the risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
