What Is The Correct Resveratrol Dosage?

To understand the correct dosage of resveratrol, you must understand the following:

1. 1,000 milligrams make 1 gram and 1,000 micro grams make 1 milligram

2. One ounce of red wine contains up to 360 micro grams of resveratrol

3. One standard bottle of wine (750 ml) contains 25 ounces

4. So, adding two and two together, one bottle of wine contains up to 25 X 360 = 9,000 micro grams or up to 9.00 milligrams of resveratrol, depending on the quality of wine. Wikipedia says that some wine bottles contain up to 14.3 milligrams of resveratrol.(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resveratrol )

The recommended dosage of resveratrol is between 400 - 1000 mg per day and if you want to get it from wine, you will have to polish off at least 40 bottles every day, which will turn you into a raging alcoholic and give your bank balance a hangover.

We are not recommending that you must get your resveratrol dosage from wine. Instead, you should get it from supplements.

Before we proceed, you must know that there are a few theories that say that even 20 mg of resveratrol a day can be beneficial.

Now, here’s the information about resveratrol supplements:

Resveratrol supplements work by suppressing calorie intake. Supplements contain trans resveratrol, which is pure and very beneficial. Resveratrol supplements must be sheltered from the sun, light and oxygen. If resveratrol is exposed to these elements, it changes from trans to cis resveratrol, which does not have anywhere near the bio-availability as the "trans" type.

Let’s talk about dosage now. Lab mice were fed about 22mg/kg resveratrol and this dosage helped increase their lifespan and fought off obesity. If we equate this for humans, every 160-pound human requires 1,575 mg of resveratrol daily. This is an incorrect calculation because the lab mice were fed with high fat foods during the study, which formed 70% of the total diet. An average American obtains about 37% of his calories from sugar and added fat. (http://grist.org/industrial-agriculture/2011-04-05-american-diet-one-chart-lots-of-fats-sugars/ )

After carefully considering the extraordinarily high fat diet fed to the mice and the reduced percentage of fats in an American diet, the scientists at LifeGen have opined the effective resveratrol dosage for a 160-pound human is upwards of 400mg. This same study also says that large doses of over 1000 mg per day can be counterproductive.

But there’s one living proof, The French Paradox, which proves that even smaller doses of resveratrol are effective. The French love to chomp on a high-fat diet – and yet they lead very healthy and long lives. Obesity levels in France are the lowest as compared to obesity in other wealthy nations. Most researchers opine that this is because the French love their daily dose of red wine, which as you have read above, is rich in resveratrol.

However, the French cannot afford to derive 400mg plus of resveratrol from wine alone and therefore, no matter what scientific research says, it does seem that even smaller doses of resveratrol are very effective for the French.

It may also interest you to know that some studies have shown that with dosages over 1000 mg daily this can also assist with estrogen control if you are either male or female - essentially being a modulator.

To sum up, the right dosage of resveratrol is quite a complex topic. On one hand we have scientists telling us that humans should consume upwards of 400 mg per day, and on the other hand, we have the French Paradox, which tells us that even a few mg of resveratrol a day can be quite effective.

Resveratrol supplement capsules can contain anywhere from 50 - 500mg of resveratrol per capsule. You should ideally consult your doctor about the dosage. And remember, whatever dose you take, know that it will benefit you in some way or the other.