Posted on 11/24/2006 9:05:06 PM PST by neverdem
A drug already shown to reverse the effects of obesity in mice and make them live longer has now been shown to increase their endurance as well.
Experts say the finding may open up a new field of research on similar drugs that may be relevant to the prevention of diabetes and other diseases.
An ordinary laboratory mouse will run one kilometer on a treadmill before collapsing from exhaustion. But mice given resveratrol, a minor component of red wine and other foods, run twice as far. They also have energy-charged muscles and a reduced heart rate, just as trained athletes do, according to an article published online in Cell by Johan Auwerx and colleagues at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in Illkirch, France.
“Resveratrol makes you look like a trained athlete without the training,” Dr. Auwerx (pronounced OH-wer-ix) said in an interview.
He and his colleagues said the same mechanism seemed likely to operate in humans, based on analysis in a group of Finnish subjects of the gene that is influenced by the drug.
Their rationale for testing resveratrol was evidence obtained three years ago that it could initiate a genetic mechanism known to protect mice against the degenerative diseases of aging and prolong their life spans by 30 percent.
Dr. Auwerx, whose interest is in the genetic control of metabolism, decided to see whether resveratrol would offset the effects of a high-fat diet, specifically the disturbances known as metabolic syndrome that are the precursors of diabetes and obesity. In his report, he and his colleagues say very large doses of resveratrol protected mice from weight gain and developing the syndrome.
Dr. Auwerx attributes this in large part to the significantly increased number of mitochondria he detected in the muscle cells of treated mice.
Mitochondria are...
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
My wife is diabetic, we didn't drink, my wife controls her blood sugar through diet rather than drugs, lately her blood sugar was creping up in the mornings, she has started having a glass of wine with dinner and it has help her blood sugar.
Somebody's really pushing the wine drinking stuff lately! Could it be the wine industry?
But - for those that cannot drink alcohol for one reason or another - you still get resveratrol in Bilberry supplements - which has been used in the same problems of diabetes, eye ailments, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, and sickle cell anemia - just to mention a few things.
Do a Google search on resveratrol and you will find it says: Resveratrol was found in varying amounts in bilberry.
You can also get bilberry from grape skins - which is also in supplements - a safer source for some people.
Perhaps flavinoids and anthocyanidins, but the bilberry is related to blueberries and cranberries.
Yep. Bacchus and Venus go side by side.
From the higher resveratrol dose [similar to what was given to the research mice] you might grow a mouse tail, or even [god forbid!] become a RAT.
I remember being a tourist in the Alps and going on a hike with this French tour guide named Manuel. We Americans were gasping and panting and falling behind him in the thin oxygen of the mountains, and he was just striding along, smoking cigarettes and drinking red wine out of his flask. Every so often, he'd turn, notice that half the group had collapsed about a quarter mile back, and say, "Oh... We take a break now, yes?
Beware about your wife being prescribed a sulfonylurea, e.g. Diabeta, Micronase, etc., in the future. Alcohol and sulfonylureas don't mix.
Bilberry is a rich source of quercetin, a bioflavonoid that helps strengthen capillaries. Studies have shown that quercetin and other flavonoids modify anti-inflammatory responses, prevent LDL oxidation and platelet aggregation, and promote the relaxation of cardiovascular smooth muscle. These actions may help to prevent cardiovascular conditions such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, and arrhythmia...
Moreover, the berries from this low-growing deciduous shrub native to northern Europe are packed with Resveratrol, a natural antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, anti-tumorigenic, and immunomodulatory actions. Resveratrol is both chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic...
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:o5nQjX2-CVMJ:www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/nov2006_aas_01.htm+resveratrol+in+Bilberry&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
All this time I've been drinkin' the white stuff. I coulda been a contendah...
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