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.
]]>With all that going for it, most people wonder where they can get their hands on resveratrol. In order to realize the maximum benefits of the compound, studies suggest that about 5 mg per kg of body weight need to be taken daily. Let’s take a look at where you can find resveratrol, and the best source of resveratrol for people who want to embark on a health plan for it.
Don’t try to get resveratrol naturally
The upshot of all this is that it is virtually impossible to get the recommended daily dosage of resveratrol for the health benefits strictly through diet. If we take out the controversial muscadine grape findings, the highest concentration of resveratrol is found in red wines. Even in the best bottles (from the point of view of the resveratrol connoisseur) there will only be 13 mg in one litre of wine. That means the average 150lb person would have to drink 340 litres of wine a day! Obviously, not a task which could be accomplished (and even if it could, there would be detrimental effects which would outweigh the benefits of resveratrol).
The best way to get the daily dose of resveratrol needed, then, is through an extract. As awareness of this compound continues to grow, more supplements will become available and available to more people.
]]>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:
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.
]]>Well, the major buzz came from a series of articles published in the scientific journal Nature. These articles were written in part by a man named David Sinclair. Resveratrol’s newfound popularity in the popular vernacular is largely due to the work of this scientist.
The Work of David Sinclair
David Sinclair is holds a PhD in biology, and his specific area of expertise is the ageing process. Through his work in the labs at Harvard Medical University’s biology department, Sinclair has conducted several studies on ageing and what causes it.
The studies in themselves are unique. Many scientists and other researchers rejected the idea of studying the ageing process as it seemed natural, the processes to ingrained within our molecular structure to change it. Sinclair and his team began to study the different chemical reactions which take place during the ageing process, with some significant results.
The results of Sinclair’s studies
Dr. Sinclair and his team were the first to identify the role of the hormone SIRT1 in the ageing process. Explicitly, SIRT1 releases fat from the body and potentially increases life span as well.
Sinclair began to study how SIRT1 is activated within the body. He found that SIRT1 had elevated activity when a calorie restricted diet took place, as well as when resveratrol was taken.
Sinclair and resveratrol
Sinclair’s interest in resveratrol came about as he isolated different compounds within red wine, finding resveratrol to be the most effective when it came to kicking in the SIRT1 hormone.
Armed with this knowledge, Sinclair started up his own company, Sirtris. The company produces resveratrol extracts and continues to test the results of resveratrol use on human beings. Although Sinclair has since sold the company, he continues to work with the company as well as in the research departments at Harvard.
Not only that, Sinclair has thrown his own biological chips on the effectiveness of resveratrol. He currently takes a dose of 500mg daily, as do his parents and most of his research team. For many, it’s proof enough that resveratrol has a legitimate place within the vernacular of the medical community.
]]>Low doses may be just as effective
Now your first instinct with resveratrol might be to take as much as possible in order to realize the full health benefits. However, as with any medicinal type material, there are downfalls to this approach which will explore in greater detail below.
With resveratrol, the fact is that in some cases, lower doses may be all that is needed in order to bring about many of the positive health effects the compound has been touted for.
The reason for this is resveratrol’s ability to interact with other materials we pick up within our natural diets. In effect, it acts as a “booster” for ingested items such as ellagic acid, vitamin E, ethanol, catechin and other components of our diet which fight a wide variety of problems, from leukemia to the clumping of fat cells. If you have studied some of the benefits of resveratrol already, this should come as no surprise as the compound is quite often found to boost the effectiveness of many of the beneficial operations within our bodies.
The downside
It is worth mentioning, quickly, that resveratrol is believed to be toxic in high amounts. How high? Well, studies show that the ceiling is just under 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. Therefore, it’s important to avoid the conclusion that taking extra resveratrol will help you live longer, fight diseases more efficiently, and so on.
The right dosage
That said, there are also experiments which prove that resveratrol can be taken in doses as high as 300mg per kg of body weight with no ill effects, and several leading scientists in the matter of resveratrol take almost double that amount.
Still, the costs of the dosage should always be measured against the gain. Because of the booster effects of resveratrol, taking it in conjunction with other healthy supplements means that it is likely to be effective on a dosage at the lower end of the scale. How low? Well, it appears as though a dose of just 5mg per kg of body weight per day is enough to realize the health benefits resveratrol offers. And that’s a perfect amount in terms of cost as well.
]]>SIRT1
The key to weight loss in the body is the hormone SIRT1. The MIT study found that when SIRT1 is activated in the body, it in turn activates other proteins and catalysts which send a message out to the tissues where fat is stored. That message?
“Release or metabolize all fat!”
Specifically, the white adipose blood cells in our bodies which store our fat are told either to stop storing fat, or reduce the fat which they have stored. The reason for this is evolutionary. We store fat as a species in order to have energy to survive during lean times. In our current culture, of course, lean times are few and far between. As a result, we just store up all that fat in our Western diet.
If the body were to think you were in the middle of a famine, however, it would release that fat as well as immediately metabolize any extra you consumed. It would know to do this through the activation of the SIRT1 protein.
How is SIRT1 activated?
There are currently only two ways known which activate this important hormone in our bodies. The first, and most common way, is through diet. Diets, of course, are meant to restrict our caloric intake, which in turn says to the body that we are in the middle of lean times.
Of course, diets have been around for decades, and are notoriously ineffective on humans. The main reason for this is will power; not many people can really stick to a diet for a few months, let alone their whole lives.
Other reasons for avoiding diets might be even more compelling. For starters, in order for your body to go into true famine mode, calories must be restricted by at least half. For the average adult, that means eating once every two days.
Even if that is doable for a person, they might not want to deal with the side effects. Calorie restriction is known to cause:
Irritability
So, in addition to not being able to eat anything at all, no one will want to have sex with you and you won’t want to have any sex with anyone else. If we’re honest, there really seems to be no point in this kind of lifestyle. Even if it prolonged your life, those would just be extra years of being hungry, frigid, grumpy, and lacking in the physical department.
Extract
Fortunately, there is one more way to activate the SIRT1 hormone, discovered by researchers at Harvard Medical. That way is to take resveratrol in the form of an extract, which has been shown to activate the SIRT1 hormone in studies. After activation, of course, SIRT1 works its magic causing the body to react as if it were in the middle of a famine.
Long and short, if you want to activate that great SIRT1, you have two options. You can diet for the rest of your life, resulting in a significant decrease in your enjoyment of it, or you can opt for taking resveratrol extract!
]]>The problem with high blood pressure
Blood pressure indicates how much blood is passing through veins and arteries within a given amount of time. This movement always causes stress on arterial walls, but the higher the amount of blood moving through at once, the higher the stress will be.
More blood goes through narrower openings as the arteries form the plaques and are ruptured through the wear and tear fats and cholesterols bring to these elastic walls. In addition, blood platelets may accumulate (which so far researchers have not yet connected to diet although smoking and other lifestyle choices may be a factor) which block some of the open areas of the arterial pathways.
Both blockages and ruptures cause the openings in the arteries to become narrower. Ruptures cause scar tissue to form, which is what makes the openings narrower in that case. The direct result is an increase in blood pressure levels, as more blood is forced through smaller arteries and veins.
The end result of continuous high blood pressure is a condition known as hypertension. It’s just like it sounds; there is a lot of stress put on the walls of your arteries, and as they continue to deteriorate, they become even less able to hold up, wearing out quicker. Individuals with hypertension caused by high blood pressure run very high risks of stroke, arterial aneurysms, chronic renal failure, and heart attacks.
The Effects of Resveratrol
Resveratrol works to combat high blood pressure in the same ways it counteracts cardiovascular disease. Here’s a recap!
Summary
Resveratrol supplementation can greatly reduce blood pressure levels. It does through various means of relaxing the walls of the arteries by preventing inflammation and removing blockages. In turn, this reduction of pressure leads to a greatly decreased chance of stroke, aneurysm, and other major heart problems.
]]>Well, research into resveratrol and cardiovascular disease suggest that once again, this compound may have some positive effects in the fight against one of our society’s biggest problems. Let’s take a look!
Cardiovascular Disease
As with many of our most infamous diseases (cancer, heart disease, and so on) cardiovascular disease is a term which is used to describe a large range of complications. All of these problems, however, have one thing in common: they involve the arteries and vessels.
Specifically, cardiovascular diseases will lead to a hardening, or thickening, of the arteries and veins which carry blood to and from the heart. This hardening occurs when large amount of Low density lipoproteins (which carry cholesterol) begin to accumulate along the walls of our blood vessels.
This accumulation is known as plaque, and eventually the plaques cause ruptures along the arterial walls. The body can compensate for both the plaque and the ruptures. To combat the narrowing of the passages, arteries are often widened. Once the ruptures occur, they can be repaired with scar tissue.
Unfortunately, both of these solutions lead to the real problems of heart disease. Widening can sometimes be too great, leading to an aneurysm. When the body repairs the ruptures itself, there is always scar tissue left behind. As more repairs occur, more scar tissue appears, leaving ever narrowing passageways for the blood supply. Eventually, there is no room left for sufficient blood to pass between the organs, and death results.
Resveratrol combats hardening several ways
One of the biggest problems with heart disease is that it is cumulative, and the rupturing begins at a very early age. Thus, efforts to combat it should also begin early.
Resveratrol is effective both in the preventative stages of CD and in helping the body combat the disease themselves. First, it acts as an antioxidant, which means it stops inflammation of the vessels within the arteries. It does this by reacting with free radicals, in conjunction with other antioxidants. It can also combat the oxidization of LDL plasma, through the same mechanisms.
The compound has also been shown to prevent different platelets from accumulating, something which can also lead to blocking of the arterial pathways. Thrombin, 12-HETE, and a few other hormones have been shown to increase the accumulation of platelets. Resveratrol decreases their production, as well as limiting their communicative abilities.
Finally, resveratrol has been shown to facilitate the movement of nitric oxide into the arteries. Nitric oxide further helps to relax the blood vessels, again by ceasing the oxidization of LDL plasma.
We can’t stress enough the fact that the Western world’s number one killer is also its most subtle. From the time we are quite young, diet begins to cause those ruptures in our arterial pathways. Because there is a lot of room at first, this does not become significant until later on in life. By the time we begin to experience symptoms, however, the problem can be very advanced. Taking resveratrol supplements may stop cardiovascular disease before it even starts.
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