Those of you who have been following the life of resveratrol, which is probably most of you, will be aware of the many benefits linked to this amazing natural substance.
I started the resveratrol industry in New Zealand and was one of the very first globally in 2005. The early resveratrol studies were carried out on mice and demonstrated all manner of benefits. In fact, the reason resveratrol became so famous was because of the unusually diverse array of benefits which led to many in the media labelling it a ‘miracle substance’. I have never found such labels overly helpful, but the list is certainly impressive.
Amongst the more interesting early mouse studies were;
• Longevity in mice fed resveratrol, around 15% • Resveratrol protected against the negative effects of obesity in mice (relevant to diabetes research) • Resveratrol protects the neurological and motor functions of mice into old age • Reduction in risks of getting various cancers • Protection against the damaging effects of strokes • And my personal favourite…mice fed resveratrol could run twice as far on treadmills This is by no means a complete list, just some of the studies that were interesting to me at the time. Resveratrol was even labelled a ‘fountain of youth’. Dr David Sinclair (a professor at Harvard medical school) conducted some very famous early research and co-founded a company called Sirtris, which was setup to make drugs out of modified resveratrol (no one can patent a natural substance, so they had to modify it). Sirtris was bought by GlaxoSmithKline for around a billion NZ dollars. There has been an awful lot of noise about resveratrol in the media since then because of the dramatic and diverse range of benefits exhibited in mice (because humans and mice share 90% of the same diseases). It wasn’t long before the cosmetic industry caught up with the hottest new anti-aging ingredient and today it is found in many skin care products as well. A couple of days ago I attended an interesting seminar on the major trends for ingredients in the United States for 2013; resveratrol was number one the list. That’s because the evidence initially demonstrated in mouse studies is now being replicated in human studies. Also, our understanding of resveratrol and exactly how it works is also getting much stronger….let me explain… Humans and mice share gene called SIRT1. It has been linked (in animal studies) to longevity and to the prevention of the myriad (and terrifying) diseases of aging. It has been thought for a long time that the benefits of resveratrol were produced by its direct activation of this gene. However, there has been much debate about how, and some have said that they did not believe this was the case at all. It is one thing to know that feeding a substance to mice can prevent disease and increase lifespan, but it is another thing to prove this actually is happening in humans, and why. To prove a substance makes people live longer, well, you generally have to wait an entire human lifespan which is not very practical. Dr David Sinclair and his team have just released a study which they say proves how resveratrol activates the SIRT1 gene. They found resveratrol uses an indirect method, which made it difficult to pin down. This paper is being published in the prestigious journal ‘Science’ and lends tremendous credence to the benefits of resveratrol, and the mechanism by which these benefits are achieved. The SIRT1 gene is activated during ‘calorific restriction’ in many animals (calorific restriction is a diet restricted to a minimal about of calories per day), and its effects are to increase lifespan and reduce disease in animal studies, even in our close evolutionary relatives - monkeys. The problem with this method of extending lifespan in humans is that we like food too much, and remaining on a super restrictive diet for the rest of your life is just too hard. Despite this, there are dedicated groups of people who follow this lifestyle in the pursuit of a few more healthy years. It is theorised that SIRT1’s effect has an ancient evolutionary explanation. In times when an animal’s food supply was threatened, they ate less, thereby activating the Sirt1 gene which, in turn, caused the animal to live longer and to (hopefully) survive to better times to reproduce. We don't know if this will work the same way in humans, but we do still have the gene. It is an evolutionary hangover, and it may be responsible for many other health benefits as well. I hope you are starting to see why this study is very important, if we can activate this gene by taking a simple, safe, cheap substance like resveratrol, then there are many potential benefits that could lead to better health into old age. This is the current goal of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals in their attempt to create (and patent) a novel drug based on resveratrol. In the meantime, do what Dr David Sinclair says he does, and take resveratrol. While there is no certainty in life, sometimes you just have to look at the evidence and decide it is a very good bet. That’s how I have always viewed it anyway. Daniel King MSc
