Asthma sufferers and those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) may soon be prescribed Resveratrol. That’s what researchers in New South Wales, Australia at the Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases at the University of Newcastle seem to think.

Here’s why.  Respiratory diseases are often accompanied by inflammation of the airways caused by allergens and viruses. Sometimes even a high count of mold in the home can cause an asthma attack. In COPD, smelling the smoke of one cigarette could be enough of a trigger to start the inflammation process. The problem with inflammation is that it doesn’t stop there. Inflammation activates immune system responses on multiple levels and causes free radicals to be produced in massive quantities. When this happens, it’s called oxidative stress in the body.

There is something that can prevent oxidative stress from becoming very damaging to the body and especially in this case, the lungs. It’s antioxidants, the free radical quenchers in the body.

You’re already familiar with the antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E. But did you know that Resveratrol also acts as an antioxidant in the body? This is great news, but there’s more. Resveratrol also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

When you have asthma or COPD, taking something that is both an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent could potentially help a lot.

Resveratrol is the buzz among scientists who study respiratory disease for this reason. If you want to find out more, you’ll have to take a trip to your closest medical library to find the journal Antioxidant Redox Signal. Look for the March 9, 2010 issue and the article called Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Resveratrol in Airway Disease. The researchers included all the evidence that shows that Resveratrol protects the lungs in those with lung disease. If you are a Resveratrol advocate and love to read the science reports, you’ll love how the authors detail exactly how Resveratrol acts in the lungs.

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