Thanks to Dr. David Sinclair, the fountain of youth is in reach and many are scurrying to find the best resveratrol product. Yet, how does the consumer make the wisest decision when buying a resveratrol product? What should the consumer be looking for when choosing a resveratrol product? Here are five things to look at before purchasing.

First, check the ingredients. Is it enough just to have a resveratrol product or is there something else that is needed to make it more effective? According to scientists, resveratrol is just one of many naturally occurring polyphenols and one ingredient can not do it all. Polyphenols are powerful phytochecmicals found in fruits and vegetables and are credited with reducing the risk for many diseases, including diseases related to old age. The Shaklee Corporation, #1 natural nutrition company in the United States, knew this and wanted to see if there was something in nature that was more powerful than resveratrol. They found out that the highest concentration of polyphenols resided in a "super grape" native to the South. This grape is called the Muscadine grape. This is the only grape found in nature that has an extra chromosome. Every other grape contains 19 chromosomes, while the Muscadine grape contains 20 chromosomes. The extra chromosome gives the Muscadine more polyphenols, meaning more health benefits to you.

The Muscadine grape contains ellagic acid. Ellagic acid helps prevent the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that lead to cell death. It also reduces the risk of diabetes and protects the liver from hepatitis and cirrhosis. Animal studies suggest that ellagic acid also helps prevent gastrointestinal cancers while resveratrol and other parts of the polyphenol blend found in Shaklee's Vivix, help prevent a variety of other tumors. More importantly, according to Shaklee's literature, this makes their anti-aging tonic 10 times more powerful than resveratrol alone in slowing down aging.

A 30 day supply of Vivix delivers the equivalent amount of resveratrol found in 3,000 glasses of red wine. By putting together a product that is not just resveratrol or not just a muscadine polyphenol blend alone, Shaklee has "uped the anti" on resveratrol products, moving their product Vivix to the front of the line. To make sure they stayed #1, they also bought up the world's supply of Muscadine grapes.

Secondly, after you have checked for its ingredients (the best possible natural ingredients), you want to make sure it has the highest potency possible for a resveratrol product. Shaklee scientists found that the only drawback to the Muscadine grape was that no one had developed an extraction method to capture these polyphenols. So, they worked in collaboration with the scientists from University of Georgia and used bioassays to design an extraction and purification process that would retain all the polyphenol benefits from the muscadine grape (a bioassay is a lab procedure used to determine concentration and purity of a substance). According to Shaklee, it is these bioassays that prove their Vivix is 10 times more potent than resveratrol alone in blocking cellular aging. The extract's resveratrol content is 98% pure.

Thirdly, you want to make sure the manufacturing is done in such a way to preserve all the resveratrol and polyphenols. Not all manufacturing is the same. Shaklee's Vivix is manufactured using only low-heat extraction processes, no chemical solvents and no artificial ingredients of any kind.

Fourthly, resveratrol products may be potent enough, but many are not pure enough. There is a naturally occurring contaminant in impure resveratrol products that tend to have a laxative effect. Unless a reseveratrol product is 98% purer or better, the side effects could keep you from continuing the product.

And lastly, check with the company to see if they are doing double blind, clinical testing on their product that are being published within the scientific community. Most companies just spend their money on marketing, while Shaklee always has clinical studies done on their products before they go to market. The results for Vivix will be released as soon as the paper is accepted for publication. Stay tuned!

In conclusion, resveratrol alone is not enough. The best resveratrol product would be one with a polyphenol blend, high potency and pure, preferably all natural. How the product is manufactured and whether there are any clinical studies done on the product are also important when choosing the right product.