More Great News On Resveratrol

As we have discussed here before, there have been several studies discussed in the last few months touting the incredible benefits of resveratrol. There was a study published late last year from Harvard Medical School1 indicating that resveratrol, when given to mice in very large dosages equivalent to several hundred glasses of red wine per day, produced a significant extension of life span along with protecting the cells and organs from the damage elevated blood sugar causes. Resveratrol showed significant improvement in endurance and physical performance in the same study.

There were a few interesting animal studies published this month on resveratrol unrelated to life span or physical endurance. In one study published in the journal Life Science, a group of rats were treated with a chemical to induce elevated blood sugar along with damage to the nerve endings. Six weeks after this damage was induced, these mice were then supplemented with two weeks of resveratrol. The resveratrol produced a marked increase in catalase (a powerful antioxidant enzyme).

There was also betterment in nerve function which was actually demonstrated on pathologic review of the nerves performed after supplementation with resveratrol. The researchers reasoned that the study suggested the potential of resveratrol for the benefit of impaired nerve function produced by elevated blood sugar and that its protective effect may be mediated through a reduction in oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation or damage.

In another study out of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute published in the March 2007 journal Blood3, it was found that resveratrol seemed to inhibit the proliferation of abnormal cellular growth within the bone marrow. And in still another study published March 2007 in Circulation Journal2, researchers tested the effects of resveratrol on inflammation of the heart muscle cells of rats. It was found that resveratrol diminished the inflammation within three weeks. It measured a particular enzyme in the heart muscle called SIRT which was increased after resveratrol was given.

Resveratrol is truly one of the most amazing nutrients we have ever investigated. It activates genes at the DNA level to produce repair and protective enzymes naturally by the cells. The fountain of youth may actually be a fountain of red wine high in resveratrol.