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So when researchers find that paracatemol can prevent myeloperoxidase from producing hypochlorous acid, it sounds really good. However, it seems like a bit of a bandaid approach to a more comprehensive problem. My guess is that even if people do successfully prevent tissue damage by lowering the incidence of free radicals through this, some other symptoms of heart disease would pop up elsewhere because the basic causes are still in place. High fat diet, lack of exercise. To really stave of heart disease changes in diet and lifestyle have to take place. Heart disease takes a long time to manifest symptoms, the first of which is often a heart attack. It’s unlikely taking paracetamol will turn that around. That said though, given what it does it would no doubt help people lower the risk of heart diease while they are turning things around. Overall a good discovery. Not a game changer though.

On the other hand resveratrol attacks heart disease on a number of fronts.

First, there is antioxidant effect of resveratrol in reducing free radicals. This is very important in preventing the elements of arterial plaques forming in the very first place. Arterial plaques begin when cracks appear in the arterial wall and LDL molecules flowing by in the bloodstream get caught in there. The crack in the artery is releasing free radicals (because it has cracked) and the LDL molecule is subsequently oxidized. The oxidized LDL molecule then begins to attack surrounding cells, including other cells in the blood vessel lining. This attracts white blood cells to the scene and inflammation begins shortly thereafter.

In the very beginning of this process, resveratrol’s antioxidant action counters the free radical activity that occurs when cracks form in the blood vessel lining and prevents free radicals from damaging the surrounding healthy cells. Additionally, resveratrol binds to the LDL cholesterol in the arterial crack and prevents it from oxidizing. Through these two actions resveratrol plays a large part in preventing arterial plaques (which can lead to a heart attack) from getting started.

Secondly, at the stage where an arterial plaque has started to grow, what is happening is white blood cells have been called to the scene to try and stop the damage being caused to surrounding cells by the oxidized LDL. Once at the scene the white blood cells do their job and engulf the oxidized LDL (trying to remove it). Whereas normally this would be a positive thing, the now engorged white blood cells cannot find it’s way back into the bloodstream and they now accumulate as foam cells. The smooth muscle lining of the blood vessel grows over this area, preventing the foam cells from getting out. Calcium forms a cap on the swelling and hardens this area of the artery.

In this scenario, resveratrol helps by inhibiting the production of the particlular protein that acts as an alarm bell at the site of the injury, calling white blood cells to the scene when the oxidized LDL starts causing cell damage. The white blood cells don’t show up, foam cells are not created and the plaque is not formed, thereby preventing a potential heart attack at this second stage.

Thirdly, one of the big changes in arteries once plaques have formed is, the endotheliem (the inner lining of the artery) ceases to be able to produce nitric oxide. Nitric Oxide is important here as it causes the relaxation or the constriction of the smooth muscle cells lining the artery walls, making the blood vessel widen or constrict depending on how much blood is needed to deliver oxygen to various parts of the body. Without nitric oxide the endothelium is unable to dilate in high oxygen demand situations (causing a shortness of breath). This failure of nitric oxide production is one of the first signs of heart disease.

Resveratrol, in this situation, quite simply enhances the production of nitric oxide by the endothelium, allowing it once again to dilate at times of increased need for oxygen.

Fourth, resveratrol prevents clotting in the blood. When a plaque breaks open, all of the underlying foam cells and debris are released into the bloodstream. The body sends platelets to stick onto these cells, and other debris, to prevent them from doing any further damage. The irony of this is the clotted platelets clump together, accumulate and quickly block off the artery. When this happens in arteries close to or feeding the heart, the result is a sudden heart attack.

In this situation, resveratrol prevents the platelets from clumping together, forming blockages, and allows the blood to continue flowing through the artery. This platelet anti-clustering property of resveratrol helps prevent a heart attack from happening, even at this late stage of heart disease.

As you can see, resveratrol works against the elements of heart disease to prevent a heart attack at every phase. It doesn’t work on any single factor in isolation from all the rest, as many pharmaceutical “solutions” do. On the contrary, it works on all factors simultaneously.

Type 2, or “adult onset” diabetes comes about through high levels of of fat being in the bloodstream over a sustained period of time. Eventually the cells begin to no longer use insulin properly to draw glucose into them, and develop a resistance to it. To compensate for this, the pancreas attempts to produce more insulin, but gradually lose the ability to do so and produces less and less insulin as time goes by.

The result is high levels of glucose in the blood and no way to draw it into the cells to give them energy. This also leads to complications that include heart and kidney failure, inflammation, strokes, blindness and organ damage.

Drugs designed to increase insulin levels have often caused more harm than good, including a significantly higher risk of heart attack.

Resveratrol, however, has shown an ability to increase glucose metabolism in diabetics and lower their overall blood sugar levels. The interest thing is resveratrol does this in a way that does not involve insulin, or any increase of insulin production.

In a study performed at Brock University by Danna Breen and her associates in 2008, they discovered that resveratrol increased the absorption of glucose in muscle cells through a mechanism that involved sirtuins and was not dependent on the action of enzymes typically needed to allow glucose to enter the cell.

The potential consequences of this for diabetics are significant. Using resveratrol, diabetics may be able to lower their blood sugar levels and avoid the life threatening complications of diabetes, without the high risk of heart attack from using insulin boosting drugs, and without the daily insulin shots.

There is still more research to be done before resveratrol could be approved as a bona fide treatment for diabetes. The early indications though are very promising and certainly sufficient to warrant further investigation.

I was looking through Charlie Rose videos on Google Video, which I do from time to time, and found this video.

Part of a “Science Series” that he did, it has many of the researchers involved with anti-aging research talking about the latest  discoveries, and what may lie in store for people who want to maintain their health into older years.

Speaking where Lenny Guarente, Jay Olshansky, Richard Weindruch, Cynthia Kenyon, and others.

Featured at the center of the discussion was resveratrol and the effect it has on the Sirtuin gene, and it’s implications for avoiding disease and maintaining health later in life.

Very interesting video.

The last few years have been all about the excitement over resveratrol research and it’s potential as an anti-aging supplement; how it helps with protecting against the diseases of aging, like heart disease, diabetes, cancer.

Well, there is another side to resveratrol. For people who are younger and are simply trying to control their weight and boost their energy to get through the day, resveratrol is starting to gain recognition for the very neat solution it provides.

One of resveratrol’s signature traits is the way it increases glucose metabolism. It does this by increasing the number of mitochondria in the body’s cells. Mitochondria (if you remember from biology class in school) produce something called ATP which is responsible for generating energy in your body.

Simply put, the more ATP your cells produce, the more energy you have.

The positive consequences of this simple process are wide ranging for for your overall health, but for your immediate daily experience you feel a boost in your level of energy, and your mental alertness. Then, when you go to workout, you find you have more endurance and a greater ability to put more into your workouts. It seems easier.

This is the antioxidant properties of resveratrol working in conjunction with the increased energy availability and enhanced glucose metabolism.

Resveratrol has always done this, although only now is it being appreciated for it.

You don’t have to be in your fifties to benefit from resveratrol. Many people in their twenties are now taking resveratrol, as they realize it is indeed a great help for controlling their weight, making it easier to work out, and having the energy they need to get through their busy schedules.

The site was launched due to concerns about the dearth of quality information available about resveratrol and the emergence of various lines of ‘folk wisdom’ about resveratrol that are not necessarily based in fact.

As the name suggests this is a forum as well, where you can post about your experiences with resveratrol and get answers to questions and concerns, presumably from people who would know, or at least those in contact with them.

One huge plus of the site is an extremely informative ebook titled, Resveratrol Fact Book. This is a great read written in easy to understand language. I highly recommend you download and read this ebook if you are at all interested in resveratrol. It covers just about every question you could have about resveratrol.

The forum community is still in a fledgling stage but showing signs of growth. I believe this is a big step forward for resveratrol being taken more seriously as a health supplement and is a true resource for those considering supplementing their diet with resveratrol.

I highly recommend you go and register for the forum, and at the very least download the Resveratrol Fact Book. It will be well worth your time.

Andrew

It is not often recognized but high blood pressure can be very damaging to the lining of the arteries and cause the beginnings of more serious cardiovascular conditions. Just as running water can cause considerable damage to houses and infrastructure during flooding, so it is also inside your blood vessels.

In their experiment the researchers induced trauma to the aortas of male rats by increasing their blood pressure for 90 minutes causing them to hemorrhage. After the rats’ blood pressure was brought back to normal, the damaged areas of their aortas began producing high levels of free radicals, which caused even further damage and worsened the hemorrhaging.

Resveratrol was given to half of the rats in the experiment, after the trauma was stopped and their blood pressure was brought back to normal.

Twenty-four hours later, the researchers euthanized the rats and examined them. They found the rats that didn’t receive resveratrol had high levels of many free radicals around the damaged areas and further damage had begun.

In the rats that received resveratrol, they found much less damage in the trauma-induced areas and free radical activity had been reduced to normal levels.

The researchers noted in conclusion that resveratrol was effective in preventing endothelial dysfunction (damage to the blood vessel lining) and super-oxide production (proliferation of free radicals) that could result the hemorrhage of the aorta.

What this research shows is resveratrol can be very effective in treating the symptoms of cardiovascular disease in mammals (which as humans, we are), especially hemorrhaging in the the aorta, which if untreated could quickly result in shock and death.

Along with other mounting research, resveratrol is showing itself to be an important factor for heart health and preventing cardiovascular disease.


Included as examples of the purveyors of immortality are Christoph Westphal, CEO of Sirtris Parmaceuticals quoting that resveratrol “has the chance to change health care”, as well as the many companies selling resveratrol supplements today.

Further, the author cites a list of other supplements that have been promoted for anti-aging (DHEA; Human Growth Hormone, Acai, Resveratrol, even Calorie Retsriction) pointing out that they all had their day in the sun garnering a lot of attention, but now that the spotlight has faded, so the author’s logic goes, they must each be failures.

The basis for all of this skepticism about anti-aging, and resveratrol in particular, is an article in NewScientist that quotes two studies that cast doubt on the effectiveness of resveratrol’s ability to activate the SIRT1 gene and produce the Sirt1 protein (that plays such an active role in reversing the negative effects of the diseases commonly associated with aging).

The article in NewScientist is interesting because it is very carefully written, it doesn’t actually say anything about whether resveratrol triggers production of the Sirt1 protein. Nor does it mention the reams of research, done mainly at universities around the world, that confirms resveratrol to activate SIRT1.

What the article does reveal, and what it is really about, is the two studies (that claim resveratrol doesn’t activate SIRT1) where commissioned, one apiece, by Amgen and by Pfizer, competitors of GlaxoSmithKline (that now owns Sirtris Pharmaceticals, the company at the forefront of resveratrol research). So whatever the studies reveal about resveratrol, positive or negative, what’s actually going on here is two billion-dollar multi-national drug companies have entered the ring in the upcoming Fight For Resveratrol.

In one corner we have GSK represented by microbiologist prodigy David Sinclair with his high energy former VC, Sirtris CEO Christoph Westphal, and in the other corner we have Amgen and Pfizer represented by, we’re not sure who yet.

If this is indeed the opening round it looks like Amgen and Pfizer are happy to go negative, using ‘researchers’ as their ground troops (I know, I’m mixing metaphors). And it looks like NewScientist could be their mouthpiece. Maybe that’s not true, but it would be better if the reporting they did was a little more factual and not focused so much on quirky innuendo.

So … resveratrol is just a fad, an anti-aging “failure”, huh? Well for something that is “fizzling”, it seems a little odd that two billion-dollar drug companies deem it necessary to engage in a turf war over it. No?

If resveratrol were simply nothing, then Amgen and Pfizer would happily let GlaxoSmithKline run down this blind alley all by themselves. Wouldn’t they?

These two recent studies do say something about resveratrol … that it has a very, very bright future.

Skeptics of resveratrol seem to enjoy pointing out that resveratrol’s positive results have thus far “only” been seen in mice and rats (even though most of the medical treatments we take for granted today where initially tested on mice and rats) and that human results need to be shown before resveratrol can be trusted.

Well, maybe. But then again, maybe not. Just like lawyers, whose advice is usually shaded by their own interests, many scientests are overly conservative and don’t want to go on record saying resveratrol is “safe” to take until there is overwhelming clinical evidence pointing to that conclusion.  And, of course, no-one wants to be wrong, or get sued.

The human trials in these articles are reassuring, but it seems pretty clear already resveratrol is an amazing product with obvious benefits for those who take it. (to see for yourself try one of the free offers for resveratrol, if you haven’t already). A lot of the researchers doing these studies take resveratrol, including David Sinclair himself, and Joseph Maroon, author of The Longevity Factor. That says something to me.

Anyway, these are interesting articles, even if they do state the obvious.