Resveratrol – Fountain of Youth?

You have heard resveratrol in the news lately, but if not you will because this nutritional supplement will soon become available in more mainstream stores like Walgreens.

Resveratrol is a compound found in trace amounts in the skin of red grapes and in red wine. Studies of mice have been very promising. Overfed mice didn’t gain weight and seemed to slow their aging process.

While these benefits are yet to be proven in humans, it does look promising. Researchers like Dr. David Sinclair of the Harvard Medical School have found that resveratrol works by entering a cell and activating a enzyme called SIRT1. This enyzme stimulates the growth of new mitochondria (the “engines” of cells) and this increases the metabolic rate. The possible benefits to increased mitochondria are weight reduction, increased exercise endurance and the prevention of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Nice.

Stay tuned for more information on resveratrol, especially as more studies on humans are conducted.

——
Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

Source:
“Can red wine help you live forever?” by David Stipp, Fortune Magazine







3 Responses to 'Resveratrol – Fountain of Youth?'

  1. Fueling The World - February 27th, 2007 at 7:59 pm

    [...] Not only will you learn a lot about the science of climate change, you can read about present-day Stone Age tribes untouched by modern civilization, why drinking moderate amounts of wine may be good for your health, and other wonders of the pale blue dot called Earth.    Posted in General Information     [...]

  2. Atoms to Zebras - March 1st, 2007 at 8:36 pm

    [...] There are many researchers who believe that the ingredients of wine in regions of France play a role in this paradox. In a recent article, I talked about an ingredient called reservatrol that is found in higher amounts in red wines. Reservatrol is very promising, but this may not explain the French paradox because reservatrol isn’t found in significant amounts in most wine. On the other hand, there is significant amounts of procyanidins in wine. They belong to a class of compounds called polyphenols that are found in plants are believed to protect blood-vessel cells. Interestingly enough, some of most procyanidin-rich wines are found in wine grapes found in South France. [...]

  3. The Science of Climate Change - April 22nd, 2009 at 6:01 am

    [...] you can read about present-day Stone Age tribes untouched by modern civilization, why drinking moderate amounts of wine may be good for your health, and other wonders of the pale blue dot called [...]


Leave a Reply