Quercetin and Resveratrol?
Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 3:38PM 
Two buzz words in nutrition and supplement research – quercetin and resveratrol. What is the lowdown? Should you take a supplement or just eat the food?
The simple answer is unclear. Quercetin is a type of antioxidant known as a polyphenol. Two categories of polyphenols are flavonoids and non-flavonoids. A flavonoid is a pigment in food that has important health benefits. Besides antioxidant activity, flavonoids are known for their prevention of heart disease and cancer, since they can lower cholesterol levels and inflammation in the body.
Quercetin is found in the greatest concentration in apple skins, but can also be found in red grapes, green tea and buckwheat. Several positive studies were done with animals, including one in which quercetin supplemented mice were less likely to get the flu. Human studies to date have been inconclusive on supplement usage.
Resveratrol is a non-flavonoid polyphenol that is found in grapes and grape skins. It has strong anti-inflammatory effects in the body which can be helpful in the prevention of atherosclerosis. Wine drinkers tout they are getting their resveratrol for the day. However, you would have to consume 180 glasses of wine per day to obtain the amount necessary for health. Studies are also inconclusive on supplement usage. More importantly, many supplements tested do not contain the amount of resveratrol that is stated on the bottle.
Bottom line? Until more research is in, eat apples and grapes, and drink green tea. You will be receiving the quercetin and resveratrol your body can readily use and absorb and there is nothing to lose except bad health…and maybe the flu.
Apples, Buckwheat, Quercetin, antioxidants, atherosclerosis, flavonoids, flu, green tea, iinflammation, polyphenols, resveratrol, wine in Supplements? 
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (2)
Hi Susan,
While I am very big believer and fan of your book and dietary advice, I take issue with your stance against wine. There seems to be plenty of compelling evidence that red wine contains properties other than Resveratrol that are beneficial, as long as that consumption is moderate. For example, from the Zutphen Study...
ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 28 2007 -- Drinking a little alcohol every day, especially wine, may be associated with an increase in life expectancy. That’s the conclusion of Dutch researchers who reported the findings of their study today at the American Heart Association’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
When the researchers looked independently at wine consumption, the associated risk reduction was greater. Participants who drank on average half a glass, or 1.5 ounces, of wine per day, over a long period, had a 40 percent lower rate of all-cause death and a 48 percent lower incidence of cardiovascular death, compared to the non-wine drinkers.
Researchers said life expectancy was 3.8 years higher in those men who drank wine compared to those who did not drink alcoholic beverages. Life expectancy of wine users was more than two years longer than users of other alcoholic beverages. Men with a long-term alcohol intake less than or equal to 20 grams per day had a 1.6-year-higher life expectancy, compared to those who consumed no alcohol.
Also, in another study, other components of wine were analyzed that seem to lead to other benefits: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611174052.htm
And The Mayo Clinic also talks about the benefits of moderate wine consumption: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-wine/HB00089
Thanks, and i do love your blog.
Ray
Hi Ray:
Thank you for your comments. This blog was not really speaking to the benefits of red wine - rather to whether you would get the benefit of resveratrol from red wine (and supplements). Yes, many benefits to red wine in certain populations (as with the studies you mention) - more in men than women and more in those without insulin resistance than those with it.
Recommendations and studies all apply to specific situations and individuals so hopefully that will clarify my thoughts. Always appreciate you reading and your kind words.
Best,
Susan