The Resveratrol Pushers

This is my first post to this blog.

I had started my heath research web site (M. Spilmon's Nutrition Guide) only a few days ago, but I immediately saw that I needed a better way to enable comments on my own rants.  So this blog spot site was created to keep my opinionated rants in a more workable open medium.  Again thank you Google!!!

This first article was started on my web site's front page and then moved here to provide for a possible forum.  So please comment freely. But keep in mind, I will not accept any sort of vulgar profanity, so be civil. Thank you.

Many doctors, including the famed expert Dr. Mehmet Oz, are found today advocating that if you drink a glass of red wine that you will become healthier and live longer. 

So why drink red wine? And why is it being viewed as a panacea? Could it be the French paradox?

The term French paradox was coined by Serge Renaud, a scientist from Bordeaux University in France, and has been in use since the early 1990s. Moderate drinking of red wine has long been known to reduce the risk of heart disease. Studies suggest resveratrol in red wine may play an important role in this phenomenon. (read more at http://www.resveratrolbenefits.com/)

But before I go into my long rant on the push by the medical community for this supplement, please read the following from WebMD: How to Evaluate Vitamins and Supplements

The overall impact of the popular perception, in the English-speaking world, that the French paradox is a real phenomenon, has been to give added credibility to health claims associated with specific French dietary practices.

This was seen most dramatically when, in 1991, an early account of the then-novel concept of the French paradox was aired in the United States on 60 Minutes. The broadcast left the impression that France's high levels of red wine consumption accounted for much of the country's lower incidence of cardiac disease. Within a year, the consumption of red wine in the United States had increased 44% and some wine sellers began promoting their products as "health food."

The cultural impact of the French paradox can be seen in the large number of book titles in the diet-and-health field which purport to give the reader access to the secrets behind the paradox:

• The Fat Fallacy: The French Diet Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss (William Clower, 2003)
• The French Don't Diet Plan: 10 Simple Steps to Stay Thin for Life (William Clower, 2006)
• French Women Don't Get Fat (Mireille Guiliano, 2004, which became a #1 best-seller in 2006)
• Cholesterol and The French Paradox (Frank Cooper, 2009);
• The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook (Mireille Guiliano, 2010).

Other books sought to boost their credibility by reference to the French paradox. The American edition of The Dukan Diet, written by Pierre Dukan, a Paris-based doctor, is marketed with the subtitle, “The real reason the French stay thin.”

I believe that one more reasons for them telling you to drink red wine is also based on a few highly publicized studies done in 2006, when a type of natural phenol, Resveratrol, was found to extend the life of rats and other life forms. However subsequent independent research has failed to replicate these results. In mouse and rat experiments, telomere lengthening, telomerase activity enhancement, anti-inflammatory, blood sugar-lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of resveratrol have been reported; however, in every experiment to date, resveratrol has failed to extend the lifespan of lean, genetically normal mice or rats.

As of this date, only limited human clinical trials have been completed. While the reported effects are often positive, resveratrol may have lesser benefits in humans. At present, research on resveratrol is still in its infancy and the long-term effects of supplementation in humans are not known.

Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and in other fruits as well as in the roots of Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). Red wine contains on the order of 0.1-14.3 mg/l and clinical reports suggest some aspect of the wine making process converts piceid to resveratrol in wine, as wine seems to have twice the average resveratrol concentration of the equivalent commercial juices.  Resveratrol also has been produced by chemical synthesis and by biotechnological synthesis (metabolic engineered microorganisms), and it is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed. The Japanese knotweed is known as Huzhang in Chinese medicine and because this plant contains oxalic acid, which when eaten may aggravate conditions such as rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity.

Resveratrol achieves the effects by the following functions:

1. inhibition of vascular cell adhesion molecule expression
2. inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation
3. stimulation of endolethelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity
4. inhibition of platelet aggregation
5. inhibition of LDL peroxidation.

The cardioprotective effects of resveratrol also are theorized to be a form of preconditioning—the best method of cardioprotection, rather than direct therapy. Study into the cardioprotective effects of resveratrol is based on the research of Dipak K. Das. However, he has been found guilty of scientific fraud, and many of his publications related to resveratrol have been retracted. A 2011 study concludes, "Our data demonstrate that both melatonin and resveratrol, as found in red wine, protect the heart in an experimental model of myocardial infarction via the SAFE pathway."

It was recently brought to my attention that a resveratrol supplement called Longevinex was recommended to my friend by her eye doctor. You can read a study of the effectiveness of this expensive (1 Month Supply - 30 Capsules: $36.95) suppliment here: Effects of Longevinex. You can get the generic equivalent of this supplement for less than $20, if you buy their main ingredients through Amazon.  But the question is: Why is the eye doctor recommending this expensive supplement for my neighbor?

Here is a local news video on this: I-Team  Red Wine Compound Could Help Blindness - 8 News NOW

One man who seems to have amassed a large amount of research regarding the resveratrol in Longevinex is Bill Sardi, the president and CEO of the company which makes Longevinex. You can read his reasoning for the promotion of the resveratrol supplement here in his online document; "The Case For Resveratrol"

However, in January 2012, Forbes Magazine posted an article criticizing Mr Sardi's promotion of this supplement. If you are seeking the truth, as am I, you may wish to read this article; "Resveratrol and Fraud"

Take a read of the front page of this web site, http://eyedoctorricher.com/, and it will help you understand why this jump on the band wagon style of medicine has become so pervasive today. Here this eye doctor states, "Dr. Richer cautions that other similar store-bought products are not likely to produce the same rapid results seen among his patients. He advises patients not to risk their vision with unproven products."

So now that you’ve read this Doctor’s statement, can anyone see my point of view on this statement, it has a little ringing of hypocrisy to it?

Here is the break down of ingredients found in Longevinex:

• Vitamin D3: A 1200 IU dose. Their claim is that this dose; "is three times more than the Recommended Daily Allowance, it is well within the Safe Upper Limit established by the National Academy of Sciences (2000 IU) and corresponds with a supplemental dosage recently found to be beneficial in a human clinical trial." (Since I already take a Calcium Citrate + D3 (500 IU of D) supplement, which I purchased at my local CVS pharmacy, and is at 120% of the Vitamin D RDA, should I take more?)
• Resveratrol: A 100 mg dose. They claim that it is microencapsulated "Because resveratrol is vulnerable to molecular alteration or  degradation due to exposure to environmental factors (light, oxygen,  heat), Longevinex® was the first to offer stabilized resveratrol in an  environmentally sealed liquid-filled capsule." (You can get 100 mg supplements from Amazon for under $15 for 60 pills and not care about the microencapsulated mumbo-jumbo)
• Rise Bran Phytate or Phytic acid. Phytate has been dubbed the anti-nutrient, but it’s also a beneficial phytonutrient. Phytate binds with minerals and prevents their absorption, possibly leading to deficiencies, especially if your diet is high in fiber and whole-grain foods. It’s also an antioxidant and may help fight some cancers. Maintain a balance by monitoring your consumption of high-phytate foods and by getting enough of the nutrients affected by phytate. (see WebMD) (If you have a bowl of high fiber porridge on a regular basis like I do, you shouldn't need this supplement.)
• Quercetin is used for treating conditions of the heart and blood vessels including “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), high cholesterol, heart disease, and circulation problems. It is also used for diabetes, cataracts, hay fever, peptic ulcer, schizophrenia, inflammation, asthma, gout, viral infections, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), preventing cancer, and for treating chronic infections of the prostate. (see WebMD) (This supplement is unnecessary, if you have a daily cup of the flavonoid filled Lipton green tea, as I do)

Have I got your attention? I'm hoping at this point that my example is enough to spark your interest, and you'll enjoy reading my findings further.

Dr Pam Popper has a very interresting opinion on all of this resverartrol hoopla in the following youtube video.

 

Besides this example, I found more information like this by simply Googling and going to the Wikipedia page on resveratrol.  I've also Googled for two words "alcohol bad" and found a National Institute of Health (NIH) free publication titled "ALCOHOL’S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN", which brought me some insight on what one glass of wine a day can do.

Then I found the following in another NIH document, Beyond Hangovers: "Not only does alcoholic liver disease affect liver function itself, it also damages the brain. The liver breaks down alcohol -- and the toxins it releases. During this process, alcohol's byproducts damage liver cells. These damaged liver cells no longer function as well as they should and allow too much of these toxic substances, ammonia and manganese in particular, to travel to the brain. These substances proceed to damage brain cells, causing a serious and potentially fatal brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy."

Also during my fact finding session, I read a Wikipedia document, Long-term effects of alcohol, which stated; “Alcohol at moderate levels has some positive and negative effects on health. The negative effects include increased risk of liver diseases, oropharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatitis.”

I could continue to quote from web pages, but to me there is a preponderance of evidence which shows that taking in a glass of red wine a day may actually do your body serious harm.  And it is not necessary to do so, as far as Resveratrol is concerned.

So why are so many well meaning Doctors telling you this?  Perhaps they wish to justify their own lifestyles, instead of performing the honest research necessary to support their claims.

Famous and well respected Brain Doctor Daniel Amen states, “Alcohol is not your friend.” Dr. Amen has conducted more than 64,000 brain SPECT scans, which measure the blood flow and activity patterns in the brain. He said the worst brains he has ever seen, are those people who are alcohol and substance abusers. “When I first started practicing, I was a director of a dual-diagnoses unit, that deals with substance abusers who also have psychiatric disorders. I saw the damage alcohol was having on people’s lives,” Dr. Amen said. “Through the years, I’ve studied thousands of brain scans and concluded that drinking has a negative impact on brain health because it has a toxic effect on the brain."

Functional medicine specialist and Daniel Plan advisor, Dr. Mark Hyman says alcohol is one of the nectars and sweet pleasures of life, but always keep in mind that alcohol is a drug, an addictive substance. (Full reference article: "THE LIQUID MENACE: ALCOHOL").

So why are such will meaning Doctors advocating unfounded research that suggests you supplement your diet with a known addictive poison, being that of a alcoholic beverage called; “Wine?”

Can't they be compared to Drug Kingpins or have I watched too much of Breaking Bad?

I can personally tell you that, after a decade of my fight with type 2 diabetes, there is no such thing as moderate alcohol consumption for me. A glass a week is usually more than I can tolerate. Please read the following article, if you which to understand how I’m effected: Scientists Explain How Alcohol Causes Hypoglycemia (Too Low Blood Sugar)