FACINATING RESVERATROL REASEARCH ON HUMANS

Welcome back to my blog dedicated to sharing knowledge of resveratrol and its benefits with anyone interested. As usual, the articles all come published medical journals from all around the world. I have posted some testimonials as well. If you are new to this blogsite, I would urge you to go to the very bottom, as that is my first blog, and work you way up. I will continue to try and keep it pithy and brief.

Many people try to keep the best for last, but I can't wait. Most research on resveratrol is done in test tubes or in lab animals. My first article is on real people and fascinating.

Learning--From the United Kingdom comes a report where they looked at the effects of oral resveratrol on learning performance and blood flow in the brain in healthy adults. The participants received 1. a placebo, 2. 250 mg resveratrol (2 1/2 tsp Vivix), or 3. 500 mg resveratrol (5 tsp of Vivix). 45 minutes later they were given a series of tests that required learning skills. Blood flow in the brain was also studied. The results were that the 500 mg group showed an increase in blood flow to the brain as well as the amount of oxygen removed from the blood. The 250 mg group showed less increase in blood flow but still better than the placebo group. This was confirmed by shuffling the participants and running the study again on a different day. A single dose of resveratrol can improve learning and cerebral blood. Imagine taking it before a class. (Am J Clin Nutr Mar 2010)

Depression--The University of Florida Gainesville on the antidepressant effect of resveratrol, dealing with both the serotonin and noradrenaline systems. These are natural chemicals in the brain involved in chemical depression. Resveratrol was fed to half of a group of mice. They were all put through a series of "despair tests" designed to create depression in mice. The resveratrol group did dramatically better and had higher levels of serotonin and noradrenaline in their brains. (Eur Neuropsychoparmacol Mar 2010)

Chronic Ulcerative Colitis and Colon Cancer--Resveratrol has anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and cancerprotective properties. Chronic Ulcerative Colitis (CUC) is an inflammatory disease os the digestive tract associated with a high risk of associated colon cancer. It can be very difficult to treat. At the University of South Carolina, a chemical was fed to mice which causes CUC and subsequent colon cancer. Half of the mice were fed resveratrol in advance. 80% of the non-resveratrol mice got CUC and subsequent colon cancer. 20% of the resveratrol group got CUC. The resveratrol mice who got tumors got fewer of them. And this was achieved with a product that is non-toxic and inexpensive. (Canc Prev Res Mar 2010)

Chemotherapy and Protecting the Kidneys--As a Urologist (see Blog 1) I believe in protecting kidneys. Many standard chemotherapy agents have the potential to damage the kidneys, thus limiting their further use. One commonly used drug is cisplatin, and one factor that limits its use is kidney damage. At the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, rats were given cisplatin in a dose that would damage kidneys. Because resveratrol has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it was given to half of the rats prior to the chemo-therapy. Several days later the rats were sacrificed and their kidneys were examined under a microscope. You guessed it. The resveratrol group had considerably less damage. If someone you know was about to get cisplatin, it would be a good idea to suggest resveratrol.

I hope part or all of this is of interest. I still believe that Vivix made by Shaklee Corp is the best and most potent source of resveratrol available. Until next time.

Dr Bob