Printable version 
 
 
  

Agent in Red Wine (Resveratrol)
Even Low Doses –Found To Keep Hearts Young

How, scientists wonder, do the French get away with a clean bill of heart health despite a diet loaded with saturated fats?

The answer to the so-called "French paradox" may be found in red wine. More specifically, it may reside in small doses of resveratrol, a natural constituent of grapes, pomegranates, red wine and other foods, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

Writing the week of June 3 in the online, open-access journal Public Library of Science One, the researchers reported that low doses of resveratrol in the diet of middle-aged mice has a widespread influence on the genetic levers of aging and may confer special protection on the heart.

Specifically, the researchers found that low doses of resveratrol mimic the effects of what is known as caloric restriction diets with 20-30 percent fewer calories than a typical diet-that in numerous studies has been shown to extend lifespan and blunt the effects of aging.

"This brings down the dose of resveratrol toward the consumption reality mode," said senior author Richard Weindruch, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of medicine and a researcher at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. "At the same time, it plugs into the biology of caloric restriction."

Previous research has shown that resveratrol in high doses extends lifespan in invertebrates and prevents early mortality in mice given a high-fat diet. The new study, conducted by researchers from academia and industry, extends those findings, showing that resveratrol in low doses and beginning in middle age can elicit many of the same benefits as a reduced-calorie diet.

 "Resveratrol is active in much lower doses than previously thought and mimics a significant fraction of the profile of caloric restriction at the gene expression level," said Tomas Prolla, a UW-Madison professor of genetics and a senior author of the new report.

In the new study-which compared the genetic crosstalk of animals on a restricted diet with those fed small doses of resveratrol-the similarities were remarkable, explained lead author Jamie Barger of Madison-based LifeGen Technologies. In the heart, for example, there are at least 1,029 genes whose functions change with age, and the organ's function is known to diminish with age. In animals on a restricted diet, 90 percent of those heart genes experienced altered gene expression profiles, while low doses of resveratrol thwarted age-related change in 92 percent. The new findings, according to the study's authors, were associated with prevention of the decline in heart function associated with aging.

A glass of wine or food or supplements that contain even small doses of resveratrol are likely to represent "a robust intervention in the retardation of cardiac aging," the authors noted.

That finding may also explain the remarkable heart health of people who live in some regions of France where diets are soaked in saturated fats but the incidence of heart disease, a major cause of mortality in the US, is low. In France, meals are traditionally complemented with a glass of red wine. The new resveratroI study is also important because it suggests that caloric restriction, which has been widely studied in animals from spiders to humans, and resveratrol may govern the same master genetic pathways related to aging.

"There must be a few master biochemical pathways activated in response to caloric restriction, which in turn activate many other pathways," explained Prolla. "And resveratrol seems to activate some of these master pathways as well."

The study, according to Weindruch and Prolla, provides strong evidence that resveratrol can improve quality of life through its influence on the different parameters of aging such as cardiac function. However, whether the agent can extend lifespan in ways similar to caloric restriction will require further study, according to the new report's authors.


Vitamin Retailer July 2008
 
 
 
Your cart
Cart is empty

SHOPPING INFO

Shipping & Ordering
Quality
Guarantee
PDF Brochures
International


FREE NEWSLETTER
Health Tip & Weekly Specials

 E-mail   


Log-In
Username

Password

Log in
Register
Recover password

If Javascript is disabled in your browser click here

Categories
ADD & ADHD
Amino Acids
Antioxidants
Ayurvedic
Beverages
Blood Sugar
Bones - Joints - Muscles
Brain Food
Bulk Products
Candida / Yeast
Children
Chinese Herbs
Cholesterol
Circulatory System & Heart
Cleansing and Liver
Digestive System
Energy
Enzymes
Essential Oils - 100% Pure
Eyes
Female
Gifts
Glandular System
Gum and Mints
Habit of Health
Hair, Skin and Nails
Headaches, Pain and First Aid
Herbal Formulas
Herbal Medicine Chest
Herbal Salves
Immune System
Intestinal System
LIce Removal
Liquid Herbs
Male Products
Multi-Vitamin
Natria Skin and Hair Care
Nervous, Stress and Depression
Personal Care
Pet Catalog
Pocket First Aid
Pre-Packaged Programs
Pregnancy
Probiotics
Respiratory-Sinus-Allergy
pH Test Strips
Shop A - Z
Single Herbs
Sleep
Structural System
Supplements
Urinary-Kidney-Bladder
Vital Nutrition
Vitamin D Products
Water Treatment Systems
Waterless Cookware
Weight-Loss
Xylitol Products

Terms of Use   |   Copyright   |   Privacy Policy   |    Contact Us   |   About Us   |   Site Map   |   Web Links
Orders ship in 24 hours Monday - Friday direct from manufacturer for fresh product.
© 1998-2007 All rights reserved   ---   TheHerbsPlace.com is owned and operated by Sunshine Life Center, Inc.