Health Benefits of Resveratrol

Where does Resveratrol come from?

Resveratrol is produced by chemical synthesis and is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed.

Can Resveratrol make me live longer?

In lab experiments many anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of resveratrol have been reported. In other experiments resveratrol treatment extended the life of yeast, fruit flies, nematode worms and short living fish but it did not increase the life span of mice.  Using a short-lived fish with a median life span of nine weeks, they found that a maximal dose of resveratrol increased the median lifespan by 56% and that by the latter end if the fish’s life, it showed a significantly higher general swimming activity and better learning to avoid an unpleasant stimulus.

Will Resveratrol be used to help treat cancer?

Scientists reported that topical resveratrol applications prevented the skin cancer development in mice treated with a carcinogen. There have since been dozens of studies of the anti-cancer activity of resveratrol in animal models. No results of human clinical trials for cancer have been reported. However, clinical trials to investigate the effects on colon cancer and melanoma (skin cancer) are currently recruiting patients.

Will Resveratrol be used to help treat Alzheimer’s?

In November 2008, researchers reported that dietary supplementation with resveratrol significantly reduced plaque formation in animal brains, a component of Alzheimer and other Neurodegenerative diseases. In humans it is theorized that oral doses of resveratrol may reduce beta amyloid plaque associated with aging changes in the brain. Researchers theorize that one mechanism for plaque eradication is the ability of resveratrol to chelate (remove) copper.

Is Resveratrol safe?

While the health benefits of resveratrol seem promising, one study has theorized that it may stimulate the growth of human breast cancer cells, possibly because of resveratrol’s chemical structure, which is similar to a phytoestrogen.  However, other studies have found that resveratrol actually fights breast cancer.  Some studies suggest that resveratrol slows the development of blood vessels, which suppresses tumors, but also slows healing.   Citing the evidence that resveratrol is estrogenic, some retailers of resveratrol advise that the compound may interfere with oral contraceptives and that women who are pregnant or intending to become pregnant should not use the product, while others advise that resveratrol should not be taken by children or young adults under eighteen, as no studies have shown how it affects their natural development.