CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, ALZHEIMER'S, DIABETES AND VASCULAR DISEASE, AND BREAST CANCER

The subject of this blogsite is resveratrol, a natural polyphenol found in certain foods. There are several companies selling resveratrol products. The people in the testimonials on this blogsite (see below) all used resveratrol made by the Shaklee Corporation. This company has combined resveratrol with other natural polyphenols to produce a product ten times stronger than any competitor. I think that the Shaklee Corporation is a great company because they test all their raw ingredients, they manufacture to the highest standards, then they test the end product to be sure it is safe and has in it what is on the label. None of this is required by the FDA. They do it because it is the right thing to do.

As always, the studies I have selected come from the National Library of Medicine, which can be accessed by anyone at www.pubmed.com. These studies come from around the world. As of Mar. 14 there have been 3191 resveratrol studies published in medical journals. Here are some of them.

Coronary Artery Disease--Hardening and narrowing of the arteriesby cholesterol plaque is called arteriosclerosis. It occurs when the ceels that line the inside of arteries are damaged by free radicals. The damage is then healed by layering cholesterol over the damaged cells and over time there can be a buildup of cholesterol. At New York Medical College, they studied the cells that line arteries (endothelial cells) by mixing the cells with resveratrol. They exposed the cells to a chemical that duplicates the damage done by free radicals, and the measured a chemical in the endothelial that builds up when the cells are damaged. The resveratrol treated showed much less buildup than the non-resveratrol treated cells. Resveratrol has the potential for a new way to prevent vascular disease. (Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol Nov 2009)

Alzheimer's Disease--A group from Milan, Italy, wrote a review article which summarizes major articles on research done both in test tubes and lab animals regarding the value of resveratrol in protecting brain tissue from the changes that come with Alzheimer's. Still not much in human studies but the highlighted articles are encouraging. They also review research on the benefits of resveratrol and other neurodegenerative diseases such as MS and Parkinson's. (J Alz Dis Jan 2010)

Diabetes and Vascular Disease-From Shahed University in Tehran, Iran, is a study where a group of rats was given streptozotocin, a chemical that causes type 2 diabetes. One week later half the rats were fed resveratrol and then were tested for blood sugar and lipid levels. They also studied changes in the lining cells of their arteries in the treated and untreated groups. In the resveratrol treated group, blood sugars went up less, blood fats went up less and the arteries remained healthier.The conclusion was that "chronic treatment with resveratrol may prevent diabetes related changes in vascular reactivity observed in diabetic rats directly and/or indirectly" by keeping the sugar and fats low and by protecting the arterial cells. (Phytother Res accepted but not yet print published)

Breast Cancer--At the University of Texas Austin breast cancer cells were grown in glass dishes. A form of Vitamin E (alpha-TEA) would kill breast cancer cells but not normal breast cells. Resveratrol would do the same thing. The two together were more effective at killing breast cancer cells than either one alone. This has the potential for becoming an additional way of treating breast cancer which is safe and affordable. (Nutr Cancer May-June 2008)

I hope you have enjoyed the articles on resveratrol, and that you will share them with friends.

Dr Bob