Obesity: Do Grapes Hold the Answer?
J Bauer
Resveratrol, found in grapes and red wine, has the ability to protect
mice with diet induced
obesity from a range of the health effects of
obesity through what looks like improved metabolism and higher energy use.
It appears to activate sirtuins that control the life span in so-called lower organisms
thus increasing the longevity of worms, flies and yeast. In the lab. resveratrol stimulates
SIRT 1, a sirtuin that activates PGC-1 and PGC-1 is related to glucose metabolism among
other things making it interesting to the human obesity issue.
On the other hand, the pharmacokinetic studies are not in line with cultured cell studies. .
The situation needs much more
research and it is not known yet whether large doses of
resveratrol will benefit the obese. What an obese person can do is to eat fruit and vegetables.
Resveratrol is found in the skin of grapes and in red wine. Even if the levels are lower than in the lab. studies, similar molecules found in other fruit and vegetables may increase the benefits synergistically. What the studies show so far is a diet deficient in fruit and vegetables, will increase the health problems of overweight people. So it as important for obese people to look at their deficiencies not only what they eat too much of.
REFERENCES
1. Baur JA, Pearson KJ, Price NL, Jamieson HA, Lerin C, Kalra A, Prabhu VV, Allard
JS, Lopez-Lluch G, Lewis K, Pistell PJ, Poosala S, Becker KG, Boss O, Gwinn D,
Wang M, Ramaswamy S, Fishbein KW, Spencer RG, Lakatta EG, Le Couteur D,
Shaw RJ, Navas P, Puigserver P, Ingram DK, de Cabo R, Sinclair DA 2006
Resveratrol improves health and survival of mice on a high-calorie diet. Nature
444:337–342
2. Lagouge M, Argmann C, Gerhart-Hines Z, Meziane H, Lerin C, Daussin F, Messadeq
N, Milne J, Lambert P, Elliott P, Geny B, Laakso M, Puigserver P, Auwerx J 2006
Resveratrol improves mitochondrial function and protects against metabolic disease
DOI: 10.1203/pdr.0b013e31805d8562 by activating SIRT1 and PGC-1alpha. Cell 127:1109–1122
0031-3998/07/6106-0633
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH Vol. 61, No. 6, 2007
Copyright © 2007 International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.
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0031-3998/07/6106-0633
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH Vol. 61, No. 6, 2007
Copyright © 2007 International Pediatric Research F