One of the great mysteries of dietetic science is the so called "French Paradox" - the French eat foods that are high in calories, high in fat, and wash it down with gallons of red wine, and have a typical healthy life span that's nearly four years longer than an American who eats similarly.

This phenomenon is no coincidence. The real solution to the mystery seems to be resveratrol. This is a compound that a handful of plants produce in the skins of their fruit to fight off bacterial and parasitic fungal infections, and it works by being a powerful anti-oxidant.

The only issue as far as the French Paradox was concerned was that researchers weren't sure that there was enough resveratrol in the typical French diet for it to be clinically significant.

In nearly all cases in the lab, administering resveratrol produced benefits basically without fail. The lucky mice who were given resveratrol lived longer, but that's just one part of it. They also had more energy and more lean muscle than their counterparts.

Hold on, that's only half the story...

Mice with diabetes who took resveratrol wound up with blood glucose levels that were very close to normal afterwards.

The results were dramatic enough -- even if no one claimed they had found a "cure" for diabetes -- that increased human testing was warranted.

And as you might expect, now the Web is getting into this as well. I'm sure you're at least aware of the glowing reports that have been describing resveratrol as a true wonder drug that will change the world.

Does it deserve this kind of attention?

It just may. It's going to be pretty hard for resveratrol to live up to all of hype. The fountain of youth that we've been searching for throughout history is, alas, just a myth.

But maybe, if the studies are right, resveratrol might be as close as we can get in the near future.

So I would think that it's probably worth looking into, especially considering it only takes a couple minutes. You should be aware that resveratrol isn't subject to drug purity laws because it's not technically a drug, but is instead classified as a "nutrional supplement."

You need to be a little cautious when you buy resveratrol -- or any supplement for that matter -- to make sure you're buying a quality product. There is currently no way to organically synthesize resveratrol; it's all harvested from plants, and that harvesting process takes time and effort. Which means that resveratrol supplements tend to vary in quality, along with their price.

Unfortunately, you can't just increase your consumption of a certain food to get enough resveratrol to make a difference. In fact, even red wine, which contains high levels of resveratrol, doesn't do the trick. You'd need to drink several liters -- at least 3, or about 5 regular-sized bottles -- every day.

So to get the benefit, you're going to need a little help in the form of supplements. But how do you choose the right resveratrol supplements in the first place?

What you should look for in a resveratrol supplier is something that doesn't contain a lot of unnecessary fillers. Store your resveratrol supplements in proper conditions, because they can break down if kept in intense heat or very bright light.

The very first thing I would suggest you do is head over to the resveratrol supplements review pages I mention below, where you'll find constantly updated reviews. There are also a few nice videos at that site that show you the exact steps you need to take to claim some great free resveratrol trial samples that a few companies are giving away. So it's definitely better than a haphazard trial and error process, and it just might wind up saving you a decent amount of money.

Just to sum up, whichever resveratrol supplements you choose to take, understand that it's only a part of a health maintenance system. Excerise, a healthy diet and some attention to your emotional health are still important.

Don't take resveratrol expecting it to work miracles on its own. You still have to live a reasonably health lifestyle to experience the true benefits. In other words, don't abuse your body and expect resveratrol to make it okay.