Resveratrol: Red Wine's Heart Healthy Ingredient

The opinions on resveratrol, which is sold in concentrated form as a dietary supplement, in the scientific community are mixed. Most experts are counseling caution, for the time being. Although it appears to have no side effects in mice, no one has done a comprehensive study of the safety of resveratrol in humans, especially at the high doses given to Sinclair's mice. (The mice received 22.4 mg per kg body weight. A similar dose for a 150 lb human would be 1.5 grams per day-the equivalent of about 100 bottles of wine, or several dozen resveratrol pills.) In addition, many scientists are skeptical about the claim that resveratrol mimics the calorie restriction (CR) mechanism by activating SIRT1, the gene linked with aging. "It hasn't really been clearly shown, the way a biochemist would want to see it," said Matt Kaeberlein to the New York Times. Kaeberlein, a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle, is also a former student of Guarente's.

Sinclair, however, has enough confidence in his conclusions to put his own health where his mouth is. He has been taking resveratrol-albeit at a lower dose than he gave the mice-for three years, and he's put his wife and his parents on the supplement as well. Results of experiments that have already been performed, but not yet published, he claims, will provide an airtight connection between resveratrol and SIRT1 and silence critics. Meanwhile, a company he founded called Sirtis has already begun a clinical trial investigating the effect of resveratrol on humans with diabetes.

The idea that a simple pill might allow people to gorge on fatty food with no ill effects sounds-and probably is-too good to be true. For one thing, the HCR mice had elevated cholesterol levels, suggesting that resveratrol protects against many, but not all, of the consequences of overeating. But on the other hand, scientists wonder if resveratrol might hold the answer to the so-called French paradox, a head-scratcher that has long puzzled nutritionists. French people typically consume a diet high in fat and starch, yet they contract far less heart disease than Americans. Might it be that France's national obsession with wine has been keeping its people healthy?

Here in America, the drinking age is 21, and cops are not going to let anyone off the hook with the excuse, "but I was drinking for my health!" Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes, which means it's present in grape juice as well as in wine. So if you're underage but can't wait to get a jump on the fountain of youth, please stick to Welch's.

Sources

Stipp, David. "Substance in Red Wine Appears to Let Mice Live Longer." Wall Street Journal, November 2, 2006, page B1.

Wade, Nicholas. "Yes, Red Wine Holds Answer. Check Dosage." New York Times, November 2, 2006, page A1.

Wade, Nicholas. "Scientist at Work: Leonard Guarente; Searching for Genes to Slow the Hands of Biological Time." New York Times, (September 26, 2006) www.nytimes.com/ 2000/ 09/ 26/ science/ 26PROF.html? ex= 1163912400&en= 886405868974d8ce& ei= 5070.