Pycnogenal use to be the watchword of the day. Now it's Reservatrol or Resveratrol, acia or acai and or green tea extract.

How to live longer is on most people's minds, especially those of us who consider ourselves late bloomers. Youth goes hand in hand with a feeling of invincibility and, in fact, the actual enzymes to process an array of unhealthy foods, not to mention a capacity to fend off the effects of cigarettes and alcohol. If we are wise however we know that there is a small window of opportunity to indulge in that sort of mind/body pollution. What we may not know or may choose to ignore is the delayed effect these pollutants have on our otherwise resilient bodies.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, my father used to say. I believe he was referring more to personal hygiene than he was to diet. I've since learned to apply it to dietary intake and you are what you eat now seems more appropriate. Along those lines all the facts and figures seem to point in the direction of supplements to round, or rather, smooth things out. Resvervatrol, acai extreme and green tea extract would naturally be included in that spectrum.

For years, unless you can afford to buy organic foods, the quality of our nutrition has

diminished. Nutrients have been systematically stripped from our fruits and vegetables so that, even if you think you are eating a well-balanced diet, chances are you still require supplements. The prevailing wisdom suggests that not everyone needs the same thing and it makes sense to be tested by more than one professional to see what you may be missing.

There are certain amazing herbal supplements on the market, however, and, while taking one of them alone will probably not do the trick, taking several in combination with one another may actually enhance the effects of each of them - the sum of the parts being greater than the whole in this case. Resveratrol, for instance, which has been highly touted and mentioned on several high profile television shows, I'm sure has it's benefits. It has been suggested however that one needs the proper dosage and that it should be consumed with other nutrients to provide full effect. ResvPro, for example, also contains Acai berry extract and green tea extract, the former

being high in antioxidants, the latter known to burn fat.

Also, the Doctor that appeared on Oprah mentioned omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin supplements in conjunction with his anti-aging products. There is evidence to suggest that free radicals are what cause aging and disease. It also makes sense that, therefore, to take antioxidants that fight that process. Eating less also makes sense because that too diminishes the amount of free radicals bombarding our cell walls.

However, it seems to some degree, it is not so much what we eat as what we don't eat. The nutrients we used to count on in our food has been systematically processed out. Again, we may think we're eating well and that may have a certain placebo effect. On the other hand, I'm willing to give some of the extracts found in the Brazilian rainforest, from green tea and red wine the opportunity to work. After all, it won't happen overnight, there is something to the French's ability to eat butter and survive and I've long felt the destruction of the rain forest was one of the greatest sins man has committed just to provide grazing for cows to supply McDonalds and release methane into the atmosphere (another subject entirely.) Many would agree - and this is more to the point - that all the cures for all the diseases occur naturally on our planet and, if it's not too late, we need to protect the species that remain. Some of these species have actually been harvested and placed in the new products that claim amazing results. The best way to discern what your body needs is evidence-based. Try it for awhile - Resvervatrol, acai extreme, pycnogenol and see if you notice the difference. Then let the rest of us know.