Conventional scientists will only ever be happy if they can prove WHY something happens. WHAT is never enough. For example, you could give all the children in the school an omega 3 supplement and that school might do very well in their exams that year. Great for the parents, great for the students, but not so great for the scientists. Why did they perform well? Was it due to the supplement? Or were the teachers extra good that year? Or did they have a particularly bright group of students?

Scientists need strict experimental perimeters. They need control groups and hypotheses. They don't need common sense, because their sense is created through rules and formats. Luckily for me, I'm not a scientist so I can use my common sense and make assumptions. Yes, the omega 3 supplement probably did help those children perform better in their exams so I will probably give my children one when their time comes.

And so to the French Paradox. Why is it that French people have low rates of heart disease and obesity and yet they eat a diet high in saturated fat and wine? Many people believe it is due to Reservatrol, a powerful polyphenol and anti-fungal chemical found in red grapes and of course red wine. Since the early 1990's scientists have been trying to prove such a link, and with it, prove the anti-aging powers of Reservatrol.

Over the last 2 decades there have been many studies on animals which have proved positive. Yeast cells have been proven to last longer. Worms, fruit flies, fish and mice have all lived longer due to a regular dose of Reservatrol. So yes, the scientists have their proof.

But then things start to fall down. The doses that these studies involve are many times higher than the amount of Reservatrol an average French person is likely to ingest through a couple of glasses of wine and a serving of grapes. So, while it may prove Reservatrol as a chemical can be helpful to fight the aging process, it doesn't explain why French people live longer.

Scientists have considered that perhaps all the different chemicals in red wine work together to increase the anti-aging effect of Reservatrol. Italian scientists concluded recently that the Reservatrol in a couple of glasses of wine could then stimulate the production of Nitric Oxide which has been linked to blood vessel relaxation and therefore reduction in blood pressure. However, other studies have questioned that.

So all in all, scientists have still not found out what causes the French Paradox, and whether Reservatrol is definitely a factor. But do you know what? Common sense says that it is. So I am going to make the layman's assumption that it is. There is very little in life we can be certain of, so we make our own decisions based on the evidence that surrounds us. And I think the case for Reservatrol is pretty strong. Don't you?