Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
What is Resveratrol? Resveratrol is a phytoalexin, a natural substance that is released by plants to protect them from fungus and other microbes, from extreme temperatures and excessive dampness or drought. It is found in small amounts in the following foods: the skin of the …
Cholesterol is one of the most confusing topics in today’s medical world. Many times, those who ask me for help have questions regarding their cholesterol. They often start by telling me their total cholesterol number. But, unknown to them and many others, that is just one …
Resveratrol, already the focus of a number of studies on brain health, may be an effective way to help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. In previous studies from the University of Reading in the UK and another from the Max Plank Institute in Germany, Resveratrol improved the efficiency of the brain in young healthy people and restored connectivity for important regions of the brain used for memory, learning and executive skills in elderly people; both studies showing the supplement is very safe.
Resveratrol, found in very small amounts in red wine, has been praised over the years as a possible remedy, or at least helpful for multiple serious conditions and diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, cancers and diabetes, just to name a few. Recently, the first large study in Alzheimer’s patients proposes that, in concentrated doses, Resveratrol may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease; they used an extremely high potency but synthetic form in the study and unfortunately it did not include the associated nutrients Quercetin and Grape Seed Extract. Researchers from 21 medical centers across the United States including Georgetown University, Yale, and the Mayo Clinic have examined the safety and have started the process of examining the effectiveness of high doses of Resveratrol in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. The main goal of the study which included 119 patients was to find out whether high doses of Resveratrol are safe. Researchers looked at several biological measures of Alzheimer’s and discovered that people who took high doses for a year, had a higher level of amyloid-beta protein in their spinal fluid than those who took a placebo pill. Amyloid-beta proteins are toxic proteins that build up and destroy brain tissue in Alzheimer’s patients; they are the main components of the plaque found in the brain that is a hallmark of the disease. Normally the level of this protein drops in the spinal fluid of these patients because it gets stuck in the Alzheimer’s stricken brain. The study’s findings suggest that Resveratrol could help reverse this trend, making the sticky protein more water soluble, converting it to a more easily disposable form and the brain can once again discard it via the spinal fluid.
Dr. R. Scott Turner, professor of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center and lead investigator of the study explained, “The study is encouraging enough that we should certainly go ahead and do a [larger] clinical trial because we showed that it is safe and does have significant effects on Alzheimer’s biomarkers.” Turner also stated that a larger, phase 3 clinical trial of Resveratrol for Alzheimer’s disease could start in as soon as a year, as this study was a phase 2 trial that is meant to evaluate safety and early signs of efficacy.
For more information on Resveratrol, click here!
The researchers did also see indications that Resveratrol could improve cognition, as well. No one (including the researchers) knew who was on Resveratrol or who was on placebo (a fake pill) because this was a double blinded, randomized study but certain patients showed slight improvements in their ability to carry out daily tasks (like remembering to brush their teeth) and these patients turned out to be in the Resveratrol group. Patients also told researchers they felt like they were better maintaining their mental ability; these also turned out to be in the Resveratrol group. Additionally, there was evidence that Resveratrol was decreasing inflammation in the brain because Alzheimer’s related brain swelling seemed to be subsiding. The four ventricles of the brain were also improving in health; these are the brain organs that produce cerebral spinal fluid. The fluid is responsible for acting as the conduit for removing toxins from the brain as well as feeding and shielding the brain from bumps and bruises.
If future studies on Resveratrol continue to expose its great benefits, Dr. Turner adds, it may be a great addition to medications already available, like Aricept and Exelon, which help to support memory but do not slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Ultimately, a combination of several drugs, diet, and exercise, social and mental stimulation may help stop the rapid decline of mental health seen in those with Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Giulio M. Pasinetti, Saunders Family Chair and professor in neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, says that this is one of the first studies to show that Resveratrol is probably getting into the brain. In addition, Resveratrol may not work as well on its own as it would with a combination of other polyphenol compounds found in grape seed extract, which could help those at risk and those who already have mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. *This study was published online, September 11, 2015 in the Journal of Neurology.
Photo by Neha Deshmukh on Unsplash Now here’s something we can toast to! It’s well-known that consumption of red wine has great health benefits, but recent studies show that other alcoholic beverages in moderation might boost your overall health, too. The Study In a recent …
Photo by Terry Vlisidis-803222 on Unsplash Studies show that moderate consumption of alcohol may lower your risk of having a heart attack, getting an aneurysm in the aorta, or suffering other heart conditions. The Study on Alcohol and Heart Health In a recent study, researchers …
For years, drinking red wine has been associated with a lower rate of heart attacks in France, and thus has become a regular part of the American lifestyle. More recently, researchers at Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes of Health identified a specific chemical in red wine – Resveratrol – that seemed to significantly delay the effects of aging in mice, when given in very high doses. It is estimated that Americans spend upwards of $30 million dollars of resveratrol-containing products. Red wine is widely known by many Americans for its health-boosting antioxidants benefits.
Resveratrol is known for its excellent anti-aging abilities. Recent studies suggest that resveratrol stimulates cellular proteins, which allows the cells to live longer in your body. By manipulating specific genes’ expression, like Sirtuin1, resveratrol may slow down the aging process significantly. It works to slow the effects of aging on important genes in the brain, heart, pancreas and muscles – the crucial genes that keep your organs functioning properly as you grow older. Resveratrol may help support the kidneys as well. Resveratrol is also known to have vast benefits for circulatory health. It works to restore the function of cells that regulate proper blood flow, which in turn contributes to higher levels of brain function in aging people. Other studies suggest that resveratrol protects the function of tiny capillaries that feed the retina of the eye, thus preventing the adverse impact of aging on eye and vision health. Resveratrol may also help support the kidneys promoting normal fluid retention.
Another great benefit of resveratrol is its ability to speed up the healing process and help repair tissues that have been damaged from general wear-and-tear on the body, which promotes proper skin and wound healing. Resveratrol helps inhibit the production of abnormal collagen by calming the hyperactivity that occurs in an aging body that’s working overtime to properly heal this general wear-and-tear. It also sends malfunctioning cells to a separate location where they cannot cause any damage to the body.
Overall, through its manipulation of the genes in your vital organs and its great benefits for circulatory health, resveratrol can be extremely effective to extend both your health span and your lifespan.
The debate still continues as to whether simply consuming red wine and dark chocolate will prolong your life by any significant means. But in terms of taste, well, we all know that we can’t go wrong with wine and chocolate!
Chocolate is one of nature’s most powerful super foods. It its natural form, it contains a wide variety of minerals, vitamins and antioxidant flavonoids that offer great health benefits. But the benefits of chocolate are generally reversed when milk, cholesterol from milk solids, and/or an enormous amount of refined sugar are added. Cocoa is naturally bitter in flavor so chocolate bars require a lot of sweetening. When cocoa is cooked, it becomes even more bitter.
Chocolate in its natural form (without the additives) includes essential minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc, as well as the Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, E and pantothenic acid. In addition, it has polyphenols similar to those found in wine that offer excellent antioxidant protection. These beneficial antioxidants increase circulation to the brain and heart, improving healthy blood flow. They also help to reduce the blood’s clotting function, potentially decreasing your risk of blood and cardiovascular related health issues. Together, these agents help improve various areas of health such as circulation, energy and mood. Flavonols appear to be the substances in cocoa that are responsible for boosting heart health and keeping blood pressure in the normal range. These substances appear to improve the bioavailability of nitric oxide from the cells that line the inner wall of blood vessels:
Cocoa may increase blood flow to the brain, according to new research published in the Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment journal. The researchers suggest that long-term improvements in brain blood flow could impact cognitive behavior, offering future potential research into a healthy aging brain, increased memory and lowering risk for debilitating events. In a scientific study of healthy, older adults ages 59 to 83, Harvard medical scientists found that study participants who regularly drank a cocoa flavonol-rich beverage had an eight percent increase in brain blood flow after one week, and 10 percent increase after two weeks. In this first-of-its-kind study, the researchers found both short and long-term benefits of cocoa flavonols for brain blood flow, offering future potential for the one in seven older Americans. Scientists speculate that maintaining an increased blood flow to the brain could slow this cognitive decline.
Source: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/12/antioxidant-in-red-wine-has-no-benefit-at-low-doses/