What is Resveratrol?

hi,Gary,

first time i have responded to a blogg site- Have you heard or do you know about this new vitamin- "resveratrol"sounds good but what do you know about it?

regards Mike

_________________________

Gary Moller comments:

Mike, you are not the first to have asked: This compound is found in the skin of red grapes and as a constituent of red wine and various other nuts fruits and veges, including blue berries; but apparently not in sufficient amounts to explain the “French paradox” that the incidence of coronary heart disease is relatively low in southern France despite high dietary intake of saturated fats.

The more likely explanation of the French paradox is a combination of factors including red wine intake. The most powerful factor may be vitamin D levels: the further South one lives in France, the higher the vitamin D levels. Strangely, research findings of this association between regional variations of heart desease, cancer and vitamin D levels in France is largely ignored. Perhaps it is because sunlight cannot be patented and packaged and it certainly is not PC to recommend sunbathing as a healthy activity!

I think resveratrol is expensive in pill form. here's my general advice: Eat lots of coloured fruit and veges and take a multi vitamin, a mineral supplement and some omega 3 oil and you will be quite well covered. Have a smoothie now and then with blueberries in it. Get your vitamin D levels tested and, if you have some spare dosh after all that, buy some resveratrol.

kiwifruit slashes risk for heart attacks and strokes in just 28 days

Effects of kiwi fruit consumption on platelet aggregation and plasma lipids in healthy human volunteers.
Duttaroy AK, Jorgensen A.
Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Norway.
"...Kiwi fruit which contains high amounts of vitamin C, vitamin E and polyphenols may be beneficial in cardiovascular disease; however very little is known about its cardioprotective effects.... We report that consuming two or three kiwi fruit per day for 28 days reduced platelet aggregation response to collagen and ADP by 18%... In addition, consumption of kiwi fruit lowered blood triglycerides levels by 15%... whereas no such effects were observed in the case of cholesterol levels. All these data indicate that consuming kiwi fruit may be beneficial in cardiovascular disease.
_______________________________________
Gary Moller comments:
An 18% reduction in potential for blood clotting and a 15% reduction in blood triglycerides is spectacular to say the least. This is as effective as one could expect when on drugs medication and without the risk of terrible side effects and crippling financial costs to you and the country.

I have always been a fan of NZ Kiwi Fruit which has a number of powerful nutritional qualities, including guaranteeing "regularity". Here in New Zealand where the modern Kiwi Fruit was first developed and commercialised, fat juicy ones can be purchased from the famer's market for as little as $1/kg. In fact, I have just returned from the market this morning with another large bag of Kiwi Fruit. At this time of year I ravenously consume 4-5 per day at a cost of about 50-60 cents. The oversized, blemished, or misshapen fruit are rejected for export so we get to buy them for a bargain. Often they are the best inside.

The message coming from this kind of research is loud and clear: There are highly effective natural therapies for preventing and managing most modern day ailments and getting old (Obesity, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, droopy dick, depression, anxiety etc).

Anti-aging Supplements Inquiry

Gary
Can I ask if you have read the above book by Stephen Cherniske?
It is quite fascinating - he talks about taking supplements to assist the body to delay aging, A lot of it really makes sense, but I want to get a 2nd opinion on it as he advised using things like DHEA and other controversial supplements.
I guess I am also suspicious as he works for a company that sells anti aging goodies!
Anyway - any comment will be appreciated!
thanks
JOhn
____________________-
Gary Moller comments:
The jury is still out about the supposed anti aging qualities of substances like DHEA, so I can not recommend them at this stage. I also note that Stephen Cherniske is being prosecuted by the regulatory authorities for making excessive claims about his anti-aging products. From the little I have read, he sure does seem to be overstating the claims.

A couple of years ago I attended a lecture by a strikingly young looking professor in gerontology who was supposedly one of the world's experts in aging. He believes that we must die at about 100 years principally because our genetic code becomes too riddled by about that age with errors as an inevitable conseqence of of cell division. He explained that the main reason we die earlier than 100 years (infection and accidents aside) is additional damage to our genetic code that happens mostly from free radicals and radiation that knock it around.

He explained that the best way to prevent premature aging is to ensure that we have plenty of anti oxidants in our bodies and that we minimise exposure to conditions that cause damage to our genetic code. Among other things, this means avoiding old, rancid and burned foods, preventing sunburn, avoiding xrays and not overdoing the exercise. Once our genetic code is damaged beyond a certain point our cells simply cannot do their work and we die and there is nothing we can do about it once the damage is done.

As we get older our bodies change, including our hormones. While we can supplement with artificial hormones, I wonder if this is really necessary in most cases. Surely we should be accepting that our bodies change with time and these changes in hormones are possibly for a reason? Tinkering with one area may adversly affect another. Aging gracefully is a pleasant thought.

Stay young at heart: Smile and laugh with others each day, exercise moderately, have regular sex, eat fresh foods, take some key supplements, have regular medicals, avoid regular drugs use (including prescription ones) unless absolutely needed, get your toes in the dirt or sand, get wet and cold and challenge your brain daily.