Grapes and red wine are hailed for their high antioxidant content that is said to fight the signs of ageing. Both are rich with resveratrol which is known to be good for the heart and in lowering high blood pressure. A recent study somewhat tarnishes resveratrol's reputation as a healthy supplement.
A new research by Queens University School of Kinesiology and Health Studies professor Brendon Gurd and his team found that resveratrol may not be a good partner of physical activity such as exercising.
The research group recruited 16 participants and split them into two groups: one took resveratrol supplements and the other took a placebo.
Before the study, all participants were engaged in three hours or less of aerobic exercise per week. Afterwhich. both groups performed high-intensity interval training (HIT) three times a week for four weeks, on an average of three hours.
After the training had been completed, the researchers examined the participants' health.
They found that people who took resveratrol did not experience improvements in their health that are associated with physical activity, while those who took the placebo, however, had some improvements in their physical fitness.
This study led to the conclusion that rather than helping, resveratrol might actually be inhibiting the benefits of exercise.
At present, resveratrol supplements abound in the market because of the main ingredient's healthful benefits. Resveratrol supplements have been thought to enhance the effects of exercise.
"The results we saw suggest that concurrent exercise training and RSV supplementation may alter the body's normal training response induced by low-volume HIIT," according to Gurd. "The data set we recorded during this study clearly demonstrates that RSV supplementation doesn't augment training, but may impair the affect it has on the body," he added.
The research team, however, acknowledged the fact that the study was extremely small. More studies would need to be conducted in order to determine whether or not resveratrol supplements are as beneficial as people believe, or as harmful as the recent study discovered.
The study was published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.
