Everyone’s revved up about resveratrol

It seems that I keep coming across information referring to resveratrol.

What’s everyone talking about? What’s resveratrol?

According to Wikipedia, it is a phytoalexin, which is an antibiotic produced by plants that are under attack by bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol has also been produced by chemical synthesis and is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed.

In experiments with mice and rats , anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering,  removal of heavy metals from the blood,  and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of resveratrol have been reported. Most of these results have yet to be replicated in humans. In the only positive human trial, reported in Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs in 2008, extremely high doses (3–5 g) of resveratrol in a special proprietary formulation were necessary to significantly lower blood sugar.

Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is an ingredient of red wine, but despite the recognized benefits of red wine,  apparently it doe not contain  sufficient amounts of resveratrol to explain the French paradox  – that the incidence of heart disease is relatively low in southern France despite high dietary intake of saturated fats.

In fact,

Grapes - a source of resveratrol - especially in the skin of red grapes

the jury is out on the French paradox, as statistics collected by the World Health Organization from 1990–2000 show that the incidence of heart disease in France may have been underestimated, and may in fact be similar to that of neighboring countries. (I’ll continue to enjoy my wine – just in case !)

Perhaps it has more to do with the growing controversy over the role of fats versus carbohydrates in heart disease.

Blueberries and bilberries are rich in resveratrol – although blueberries have about twice the levels of bilberries. In a recent post I wrote, “According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, research studies support resveratrol’s effectiveness in preventing different types of heart disease and cancer.  Researchers found that diets rich in blueberries promote brain health and are a good source of dietary fiber.”  Note however, these fruits have less than ten percent of the resveratrol of grapes.

Other natural ways you can get resveratrol in your diet are in the fruit of the mulberry (especially the skin) and  peanuts ( peanuts have about half the amount of resveratrol as that found in red wine).

Finally, as a result of all the hype about resveratrol,  sales of supplements greatly increased in 2006, despite cautions that benefits to humans are yet unproven. Personally, I’ll continue to enjoy my red wine, blueberries, and peanuts because I love them.  They are three of my favorite things. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll help my health as well!

For a lot more information on resveratrol see Wikipedia.

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The Dorothy Diaries

On Thursday, Mum and I started attending a book club. The first book was A Thousand Splendid Suns, which she had read last summer. I crammed just before the meeting with the “Coles Notes” from Wikipedia.

I was glad to see the host had red wine as one of the refreshments. But only one glass as I was driving! It was fun and Mum, being a veteran book clubber, had a lot to offer. I think she will become the respected elder of the club.

We’ve started the next book, The Flying Troutmans, for the March meeting. Mum is reading it first.