Best Syndication News

(Best Syndication News) Wouldn’t it be great to be able to take a pill and live longer and healthier? When Dr. Christoph Westphal’s work is completed there may be evidence that Resveratrol can help slow the aging process.

French Paradox

For decades scientists have not been able to explain why French people suffer from fewer health ailments despite their high fat diet. Dubbed the French paradox, the high fat diet affords the French a lower heart disease rate than Americans. Researchers did notice that the French drank more red wine, which prompted some to investigate the substances inside wine.

The researchers now believe that resveratrol, a chemical naturally produced in plants when they come under attack by pathogens like bacteria and fungi, is that substance. Resveratrol is best extracted from Japanese knotweed, but also can be found in grapes and peanuts. Since you would need to drink 1,000 glasses of wine per day to receive the beneficial health effects, there are supplements.

Health Benefits

Researchers have been experimenting with yeast, rats and mice, and human trials are beginning. The experiments with rats and mice indicate it can lower blood sugar, act as an anti-inflammatory and reduce the risk for cancer.

Humans have been given high doses of the substance. Study subjects were given high doses of resveratrol (between 3 and 5 grams per day) and found it significantly lowered blood sugar. Researchers caution that more research is needed.

Clinical trials are underway to determine whether resveratrol can prevent melanoma and colon cancers. Lab experiments have determined that resveratrol interacts with cells of breast, skin, gastric, colon, esophageal, prostate, and pancreatic cancer, and leukemia. It appears that the best results occurred with cancers that come in direct contact with resveratrol, like with skin and gastrointestinal tract tumors.

There is evidence that suggests that resveratrol can improve athletic performance. According to research from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, the dietary supplements significantly reduced plaque formation in animal brains. These plaques are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Resveratrol may also provide protection against radiation.

Low Calorie Diets

A recent report on CBS 60 Minutes stated that a low calorie diet has the same effect as resveratrol. Both RC (reduced calorie) diets and resveratrol supplementation may “zero-in on the longevity gene.” Eating a lot of food turns that gene off, but “extreme dieting turns the gene on.”

Calorie restriction experiments with rhesus monkeys have been ongoing for two decades. The diet makes the monkeys “healthier” and live longer. As the monkeys approach the end of their lives the researchers have found that the CR (calorie restricted) monkeys look younger, have shinier coats and fewer incidences of arthritis.

There was a higher incidence of diabetes among the monkeys with the normal diets. They also had a higher incidence of cancer and heart disease. When they performed autopsies the scientists discovered that the internal organs also looked better.

The lack of calories kicked on a survival gene. In April 2007 we reported that a calorie restricted diet can increase lifespan even when started later in life (Reduced Calorie Diet – Prolongs Lifespan even when started Later in Life). The reduced number of calories also prompts cells to kick into survival mode with enhanced immunity.

Since it is difficult to stay on a diet, it is hoped that resveratrol supplements will help. Recent CR diet studies suggest better health for participants who eat less.

But there is hope for people who do not want to diet. “We have a pill that can mimic many of the effects of calorie restriction or exercise," Westphal says. “Our goal is healthy individuals, ideally via lifestyle, and if that doesn't work, we believe that we'll have a pill that can mimic that."

By Dan Wilson