Resveratrol Fights Aging

Previous studies have already demonstrated in animal trials that resveratrol improves health and longevity. New data confirms that resveratrol does improve health and possibly the quality of life, particularly in obese test animals.

In addition to cardiovascular function, the scientists found resveratrol to have a variety of positive effects on other age-related problems in mice:

• Treated mice tended to have better bone health, as measured by thickness, volume, mineral content and density, and bending stiffness compared to the non-treated control group.
• At 30 months of age, resveratrol-treated mice were found to have reduced cataract formation, a condition found to increase with age in control-group mice.
• Resveratrol enhanced balance and motor coordination in aged animals. Scientists found significant improvement in performance at 21 and 24 months versus 15 months in the resveratrol-treated mice but not in the untreated mice.
• Resveratrol partially mimicked the effects of dietary restriction on the gene expression profiles of liver, skeletal muscle and adipose (fatty) tissue in mice.
• Along with determining the effect of resveratrol on the health of mice, scientists also studied the effect of resveratrol on longevity.

What is new in this study, however, is that the data suggest that resveratrol did NOT affect the lifespan of animals that were on a standard diet and were therefore not obese. It seems that resveratrol extended the lifespan of obese animals by improving their cardiovascular health and slowing down other age-related decline.

These findings have been published in the July 3, 2008 issue of Cell Metabolism.

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