Resveratrol Offers Diabetes Patients Hope

In the Western world, the population experiences a number of diseases which are largely tied to diet. Diabetes is one of these diseases. Although diet is not the main culprit in all cases of diabetes, it is certainly the deciding factor in most patients diagnosed with the disease. That is because most diabetes cases are diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetes, which is developed over time. We’re going to take a look at what Type 2 diabetes is, and how resveratrol offers diabetes sufferers some new hope.

 Insulin

 All types of diabetes are linked to insulin production within our bodies. Insulin is the hormone which causes the cells in our bodies (specifically in the liver, the fat tissue, and in muscle) to take up glucose from the blood. This glucose is stored in the liver and muscle, and comes from the food our digestive system breaks down.

 Type 2 diabetes

 Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when there is a high level of glucose found in the blood of patients. The glucose is still present in the blood because the insulin has not been able to do its job triggering the uptake of energy into the liver and muscle. This can occur for one of two reasons:

• The body may be insulin resistant. Patient’s bodies have adapted to high levels of insulin due many times to diet, and fail to send out the signals which cause the uptake of glucose.
• The body may not produce enough insulin in the first place.

 Sirtris Experiments

 Early clinical experiments conducted by Sirtris, the company started by Harvard professor and researcher Dr. David Sinclair, have shown that resveratrol may relieve many of the problems faced by diabetics. 

 The experiments focused on patients with Type 2 diabetes. 67 were given resveratrol extract, and 31 were given a placebo. After 28 days, tests were administered to determine the body’s ability to break down and use sugar, as facilitate by insulin. These tests showed that while the placebo group saw no changes in their glucose tolerance, the diabetics taking resveratrol were better able to process glucose and had lower glucose levels in their blood.

 A Foundation to Build on

 If these findings continue to hold in future tests, it means a whole new world for those suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Current treatments tend to be somewhat invasive as well as hard to maintain, and cause serious side effects as well. If resveratrol can help keep stable levels of glucose in the blood of diabetics, it could mean the elimination of many of the problems common to sufferers of this disease.