Resveratrol has been in the news so much over the past 6 weeks, it has been hard to keep up on all the positive research! The November 16th and 17th editions of the New York Times reported on a French study published in the scientific journal Cell. Researchers from the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in Illkirch, France reported that the red wine compound, resveratrol, doubled the athletic endurance of lab mice, controlled weight gain, and prevented diabetes.1
"Resveratrol makes you look like a trained athlete without the training," lead researcher Dr. Johan Auwerx told the New York Times. What's more, Dr. Auwerx and his colleagues believe that it is likely that resveratrol will have the same effect on humans, based on research recently completed on a group of Finnish subjects. In the mouse study, the mice were given food enriched with a high resveratrol content, up to 400mg per kilogram of body mass. The researchers found that the resveratrol treated mice had a "significantly increased" aerobic capacity which was demonstrated by their ability to run twice as far as the mice that did not get resveratrol, increased muscle tissue oxygen consumption, and an increased number of mitochondria in their muscle tissue. Mitochondria are organelles within cells that generate energy for the cell. The researchers believe that part of the explanation for the improved athletic performance, the weight control, and protection against diabetes, is due to the increased number of mitochondria. More mitochondria means that the muscles are able to convert more fat into energy, thus less fat is stored. In short, the resveratrol had effectively transformed their muscles to resemble those found in trained athletes, by improving mitochondrial function.
Another part of the equation may be sirtuins. Sirtuins are enzymes that become less powerful with aging. There is evidence that resveratrol may trigger these sirtuins making them stronger, and warding off degenerative disease. This new research supports the findings of a study published last month in the journal Nature that found that resveratrol extended the life spans of mice by as much as 40%.2
Don't drink much red wine, or don't want the added calories and nitrates? You may be able to get some of the same benefits with our Complete Wine Grape Complex, or one of the several other resveratrol products we offer, including:
Find the one that is right for you and learn more about resveratrol and its potential benefits here.
1. Lagouge, M., C. Argmann, et al. (2006). "Resveratrol improves mitochondrial function and protects against metabolic disease by activating SIRT1 and PGC-1alpha." Cell 127(6): 1109-22.
2. Baur, J. A., K. J. Pearson, et al. (2006). "Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet." Nature 444(7117): 337-42.
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