Why the Fuss Over Resveratrol?

Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed*** and may vary from person to person***.

There is a substance floating about in red wine called “resveratrol.” As time has passed, the collective book of health news has revealed amazing result after amazing result. You can thank resveratrol for the health advice of a glass a day being good for you. Well, it’s at it again and you are going to love this one.

A new study shows that taking resveratrol might be as good as entering some big calorie-restricting diet. It found that when obese men take a relatively small dose of resveratrol in purified form every day for a month, their metabolisms change for the better. Just like an intense diet.

Granted, the effects weren’t huge, but there were a lot of them; and combined they point to improved metabolic health. That is a first in medical science. (By the way, here is another story on resveratrol’s influence on metabolism: Red Wine Can Benefit Those with This Syndrome.)

Researchers gave 11 obese but otherwise healthy men a supplement containing 150 milligrams of 99% pure resveratrol for 30 days. Meanwhile, they measured the amount of energy the men expended and the amount of fat they were storing and burning.

Like calorie restriction, resveratrol supplements lower energy expenditure and improve measures of metabolism and overall health. Changes include a lower metabolic rate, less fat in the liver, lower blood sugar levels, and a drop in blood pressure. Trial participants also experienced changes in the way their muscles burned fat.

What they found “striking” was an immediate reduction in the men’s metabolic rate while sleeping. The men’s cells were operating more efficiently. There were no apparent side effects.

They studied obese men, as they were at high risk for type 2 diabetes. Resveratrol supplements are already widely available, but more work is needed to establish whether they indeed can overcome the metabolic issues linked with obesity and aging.

What it looks like now is more good news for red wine and its central ingredient. If you haven’t heard of resveratrol before, you can’t avoid it now.