Do Resveratrol Supplements Work?
“Do resveratrol supplements work?” is the question that is on everyone’s lips with the meteoric rise to fame of this apparently miracle cure. Is it all hype so that some supplement company can sell its products? Is it another scam promising a miracle or is there some truth hidden under all the glamorous packaging? The good news is that the medical profession believes there is.
The main reason it has been embraced so quickly is that preliminary testing on animals delivered some startling results. Interest in this compound arose when it was discovered that it was the one component in red wine that had not yet been tested. Red wine lies at the heart of the French paradox, which basically refers to the fact that the French have one of the lowest rates of cardiovascular afflictions in the world. After extensive testing none of the compounds in red wine could be clearly “blamed” for promoting cardiovascular health, until resveratrol was discovered.
Resveratrol, an antibiotic compound that plants produce as protection against any form of stress or injury, seems to be a very powerful antioxidant. Studies have shown that it is effective in therapeutic and preventative treatments for cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. It also improves metabolic function, being an excellent weight loss aid, and may even slow the aging process. Of course, many more extensive studies need to be conducted, especially long-term to determine its potential to increase human lifespan, but the results of early tests are proving to be extremely promising.
How do resveratrol supplements work?
It has been discovered that resveratrol supplements are effective in preventing cancer by inhibiting carcinogenic compounds from deteriorating healthy cells, as well increasing the speed at which they are excreted from the body. When tested on cancerous cells, resveratrol not only stopped the expansion of the tumor by inhibiting the reproductive cycle but in fact reversed the process, by resetting the diseased cells’ genetic programming for termination.
In the case of type II diabetes, the most widespread form of this disease, resveratrol supplements regulate insulin sensitivity and lower blood glucose, making them an efficient treatment for this disease, as well as an ideal form of prevention. Insulin resistance is one of the major factors of the onset of diabetes and SIRT1, an enzyme contained by insulin, has been linked to DNA repair, regulation of insulin secretion and longevity. In diabetic patients, with high insulin resistance, it appears that cells contain greatly reduced levels of SIRT1. Once resveratrol is administered the levels of this enzyme increase leading to better insulin sensitivity and many other benefits.
When Do Resveratrol Supplements Work?
This is a difficult question to answer but it is definitely a gradual process, even if the reaction in controlled testing has been immediate, it has only been attempted on a small number of cells at a time in the case of cancer for example. It is very likely that resveratrol supplements will have a faster effect on diseased cells, functioning like an antibody, but it is still a lengthy process and results will not appear from one day to the next.
However, irrespective of how long resveratrol supplements may take to treat these issues, they are a much better alternative to more invasive procedures, such as surgery. Hopefully, in the near future, there will be more information available so that even more effective treatments that incorporate resveratrol may be developed.