MEMORY, SUPPLEMENTS, AGING, BREAST CANCER, FOOD ALLERGIES, OVARIAN CANCER

Blog 15

Not to beat a dead course but if you are new to us or new to blogs, the early ones are at the very bottom.  Feel free to scroll all the way down and start at the beginning.  For those who have been here already, please look at the current choices from medical journals on resveratrol.  The articles could be found at pubmed.com.

Memory--from the People's Republic of China comes a study on learning in old mice.  A group of mice was bred to age quickly.  Three quarters were fed resveratrol at 3 different doses and one fourth none.  They were then subjected to tests requiring learning.  The resveratrol fed mice did better on the Morris water maze test along with coordination and strength in a tightrope test.  Resveratrol can help in the learning ability that is normally lost with aging. 

Life Sci  2012 September 12

Disrespect of  Supplements--this paper comes from the Medical University of Vienna.  Many scientists love to talk about how food supplements are a waste of money because they do not help in any way.  This article is looking at whether resveratrol can stabilize DNA in healthy humans.  They  gave people resveratrol as a supplement and measured DNA stability after one and 5 days on resveratrol.  Each subject received 6 mg per day.  There was no difference between resveratrol subjects and control subjects with regard to DNA stability.  Shaklee's resveratrol product Vivix recommends taking the product for months or even years and the recommended dose is 100 mg per day.  This is not really a fair experiment on the effectiveness of resveratrol on DNA. 

Mutat Res 2012 September

Blood Flow in the Aging--from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine comes a study on resveratrol and blood flow in aging mice.  Of the same rapidly aging mice with hypertension,  one half were given resveratrol and the other half not.  After 6 weeks there was a significant increase in blood flow in the resveratrol group and a biopsy of the arteries showed that there was less in the way of aging changes in the arteries of the resveratrol mice.

 Atherosclerosis 2012 September

Breast Cancer--food scientists from Dongseo University in Seoul, Korea looked at breast cancer in mice.  A group of mice had breast cancer cells injected intravenously and then one third was given resveratrol, one third was given a double dose of resveratrol and one third was given none.  After 14 weeks they were killed and autopsied.  Cancer cellular activity and the number of metastases were measured.  Both resveratrol groups had "significantly decreased" cancer growth and activity.  Resveratrol inhibited cancer metastasis. 

Nutr Res Pract 2012 August 2 194–300

Food Allergies--immunologists at the University of Yamanashi  in Japan studied mice for food allergies.  When mice are fed Cholera toxin, they develop food allergies.  As you can already guess, half were given resveratrol and half were not.  They were then challenged with different foods commonly associated with food allergies.  As you might also guess, the resveratrol fed mice had fewer mice who developed food allergies.  In kids who are already food sensitive, resveratrol would be worth adding to their diet.  Are there human studies to support this?  No.  Is it safe?  Yes.  It is worth considering. 

PLOS 2012 (9)

Ovarian Cancer--out of the University of Sydney in Australia comes a study on ovarian cancer cell cultures.  Researchers are constantly looking for ways to increase the effectiveness of the chemotherapy agents we already have.  Human ovarian cancer cells were used.  Half of the cultures were mixed with platinum based  chemotherapy.  The other half were given resveratrol followed 2 weeks later with a platinum-based chemotherapy.  The chemotherapy with resveratrol showed that the cancer cells suffered more cell depths offering a safe and affordable way of increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy. 

Anticancer Research 2012 January 53–59

This has been a real potpourri, or something for everyone.  I continue to be a believer and user of resveratrol in the form of Shaklee’s Vivix and continue to get good results.  See you next time. 

Dr. Bob