Resveratrol Side Effects, Benefits, Dosage, and Research Information - My Resveratrol Experience

Resveratrol for Anti-Aging, Muscle Building, & Increased Endurance!

Here are the Top 3 Reasons I use Resveratrol:

Anti-Aging

First, like most people I want to live a very long time.  Even more important, I want to live healthier for longer.  I have yet to meet someone who wants to live until there 120 but have a myriad of health problems.  So living to 120 only makes sense if it can be accomplished in a healthy way.

When it comes to Anti-Aging, resveratrol works to help promote cellular health.  It has been shown to activate SiRT1 which triggers a fight or die response in our cells.  If we can tell our cells to live instead of die they have the potential to continue their replication process.

I believe healthy cells are the foundation for warding off age related diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.  As more research is completed I hope my beliefs are proven true.  Only time will tell!

Muscle Building

Those of you who have read articles on this site know I am very into an overall healthy, but reasonable, way of living.  This includes a physical fitness regimen that is based on intense weight training in short periods of time.  As an antioxidant resveratrol helps with muscle recovery.  I also believe the recovery is brought on partially from the cell recovery caused by activating SiRT1.

A Realistic Diet: Good Foods, Resveratrol & Supplements - My Story (Part 3)

I use the term "realistic" often when describing my routines.  It's not to make you sick of the term, rather I use it to emphasize how important it is to be realistic about your approach.  Whether it's your diet, fitness routine, or your goals, realism will keep you on the right track.  If you think you can lose 40% of your body weight in one month you're just not being realistic.

When it comes to diet I am not overly strict about what I can and can't eat.  I don't starve myself by eating tiny portions of foods with little substance.  I focus on eating foods I like, that just happen to be pretty healthy.  For me this includes eggs, chicken, rice, several types of fish, sweet potatoes, and an array of vegetables.

Here's an example of what a day of eating looks like for me:

Breakfast -A whole wheat bagel, egg whites, slice of cheese, and turkey sausage.  It makes for a great sandwich.  The local bagel shop prepares them when I'm on the run.

Morning Supplements - Multi Vitamin, Glutamine, Branch Chain Amino Acids(BCAA's),  & essential amino acids.

Lunch -I typically eat a pre-made microwavable lunch.  A favorite of mine is turkey with sweet potatoes and green vegetables.  They are easy when you have time constraints and are filling enough to get me through a workout.

Realistic Fitness Program, the Next Step! - My Story (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series I discussed the mental process I went through in deciding to change.  For me, that part was easy, it was implementing it and sticking to it that was going to be a challenge!

I knew going into this I would have to make it fun and challenging.  I like challenges and I can't stand to fail.  I often feel like I am competing with myself in my head.  The conversations I have with myself help to push me to not give up and conquer the goals I set out.  You might say to yourself, "Markus is a little crazy, he talks to himself, and has inner competitions.  What's with him?"  Well, I think everyone can relate to talking to themselves, we all do it.  I just try and use it to my advantage.  Give it a shot... you may be surprised at how well it works.

The Fitness Plan

As I previously mentioned, finding a personal trainer was key to making this work for me.  So I can't attribute this fitness plan to something I came up with on my own, rather it is the fine work of my trainer.

The idea behind this program is to workout efficiently and effectively:

The workout consists of 3 training days in which I am put through full body workouts in a 30 minute period of time.  This typically consists of 8 different exercises targeting your legs, chest, back, and arms.  There is also a great deal of emphasis on your "core", or the trunk area of your body.  During any exercise you should maintain a solid core which gives you balance and stability to safely complete an exercise.

Taking Resveratrol, Getting Healthy, & Future Health - My Story! (Part 1)

After several requests for how I "got myself back on track" I thought it would be appropriate to detail my actions of the past 12 months.  My goal is to pass along a realistic approach to getting healthy. 

This past February I was out-of-shape, eating poorly, always tired, and feeling negative.  Never in a million years did I think in less then 12 months it would all change.  What surprises me the most... it wasn't that hard!

What causes a person to change?

You see the headlines on a daily basis, "Exercising Leads to a Healthier Heart," or, "A Low Fat Diet Reduces the Risk of Diabetes."  Headlines like these are the norm.  Most of us are conditioned to read them but do not fully take notice of what they are saying.  How many times has reading an article changed your life?  I'm guessing not many.

In order for most people to change their life one of the following circumstances needs to occur:

- A life changing event such as a bad accident, medical problem, or the death of a loved one.
- You need to stop making excuses as to why you can't make change happen.
- You need to act on your desire for change.  This means, "you have to walk-the-walk and not just talk-the-talk."

Many people think changing your life means you have to turn it upside down.  Well get those thoughts out of your head, it's just not so!  You need to enjoy your new lifestyle and you can't make that happen without a realistic approach to getting healthy.

What gave me the desire to change?

Resveratrol Experience: 7th Month Update

What a difference a week makes!

Every 8-12 weeks I like to take time off from all supplements.  I call it "Body Cleansing Mode."  For seven days I stop taking all supplements and vitamins in hopes to reset my body.  Some people say there is no need to do this while others claim it's beneficial to give your body a break.

I don't have any scientific reasons for doing this other then how it makes me feel and the feedback I get from my body.  I look at it like this.  When you are taking supplements and vitamins you get comfortable with them and it's difficult to know how they are working.  You get used to the extra energy or better nights sleep.  So when I stop taking them I am much more aware of their effects.

For the past 7 days I went through this cleansing and the differences I felt were extremely obvious.  As many of you know I have an intense gym routine that puts me through three sets of eight different exercises in a 30 minute period of time.  (I will be detailing my fitness & supplement regimen in a future post)  I do this 3 days a week as my body needs to recover in between each session. 

Resveratrol Scam - Take the Money and Run...

"This heres a story about billy joe and bobbie sue... go on take the money and run..." Steve Miller Band

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word scam to mean, "a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation."  I would further this definition by adding that the perpetrators of a scam are scum.  A play on words perhaps but the severity of such an act is serious.

In this great age of advanced technology I have the benefit of seeing what search "keywords" people use to get to My Resveratrol Experience.  Over the past few months I noticed an upward trend of people searching the term "resveratrol scam" or "abc resveratrol company scam," insert any resveratrol company name in place of the abc.

I use the keyword data to see what topics people are interested in and it also provides me with a great source for writing topics.  The scam topic truly got me thinking and I felt it was an important topic to discuss. 

My first thought was to instantly go into defensive mode.  I said to myself, "people just don't get it, if they would do some research perhaps they would see resveratrol is promising."  But after this initial reaction I took a step back and I took a different approach to looking at why more people search the terms resveratrol scam.

The fact is people who search resveratrol scam deserve some praise.  They are most likely skeptical and are looking to research deeper into whether or not resveratrol is the real deal.  More people should take this approach!

SRT1720, Resveratrols' Big Brother Packs a Punch!

Mighty Mouse is back! Only this time he's bigger, faster, and stronger!

Today I cheated on my diet! For breakfast I had a three-egg omelet with cheese, bacon, and onions mixed in, along with a side of well done deep fried breakfast potatoes.  I didn't stop there!  Lunch consisted of a Bacon Cheeseburger smothered in fried onions, a large side of fries, and I washed it down with a few cokes.  For dinner I'm planning on continuing my binge of eating.

By now you're either very hungry or think I am crazy!  Maybe both!  I can eat like this because the new fountain of youth is here, SRT1720, Sirtris' newest wonder drug.  Did you sense the sarcasm yet?  Ok, so I didn't cheat that bad, but if drugs like SRT1720 are approved in humans perhaps one day we'll all be able to eat this way without any of the consequences!

You've probably seen the headlines and read the articles about SRT1720.  In a recent study by The University of Louis Pasteur a team of researchers found the drug protected against weight gain and insulin resistance, in Mice.  Let's take a look at the "meat & potatoes" of the study.

Resveratrol Side Effects Are Anecdotal At Best - Both The Positive & The Negative!

Perhaps a controversial title?  Until studies are completed over long periods of time, I have to believe anecdotal evidence is the best information we have to base our decisions on.

When it comes to consuming drugs or supplements, side effects are inevitable.  Whether we own up to it or not, there is a risk involved when you ingest a substance into your body.  This becomes even more apparent with "newer" supplements, resveratrol included, where that risk increases due to the lack of testing and long-term human studies that have been completed.

It's important to mention that not all side-effects are negative.  Many drugs have been known to provide positive side effects that were not originally expected.  A great example of this was with the famous erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra, made by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.  Viagra was first produced to help men suffering chest pains from heart disease.  As it turns out Viagra is not used for this ailment and is now the #1 most prescribed sexual dysfunction drug in the world.

I understand the example above is a bit extreme but I think you get the picture that side effects come in all shapes and sizes.

When it comes to Resveratrol many of the side effects are based on personal consumption accounts.  With there being a minimal amount of published research where resveratrol was used on humans, determining absolute side effects has been very difficult.  We have to rely on personal accounts, estimates on the transfer of effects between mice and humans, or do "self" studies in as best a controlled environment as possible.

Nanosized Resveratrol - When Micronized Just Isn't Enough!

Is nanosizing pharmaceuticals and supplements just the next phase in the progression of better bioavailability?

The new craze in science these days is the field of "nanosizing", which in layman's terms means extremely small particle size.  In scientific terms 1 nanometer (nm) is equal to one billionth of a meter.  To reach the nanoscale of measurement a particle would need to measure between 1 - 100nm.

To put "nano-sized" into perspective check out the examples below:

• A piece of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick.

A human hair is approximately 50,000 nanometers thick.

A DNA molecule is about 2.5 nanometers wide.

A single solitary molecule is 1 nanometer wide.

Ok, so you get the idea.  A nanometer is small! It's so small, not only is it impossible to see with the naked eye, but most microscopes are unable to view nanosized objects.

Sirtris Makes Major Moves - Goes Relatively Unreported!

The leading Resveratrol based Pharmaceutical Company is making some big drug changes! Have they beat themselves at their own game... in a good way?

Cambridge, MA based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals recently presented new information at the Boston Biotech Research & Development Conference on October 22nd, 2008.  As reported by Ryan McBride of Xconomy.com, Christopher Westphal, Sirtris' CEO, made a presentation with new information regarding their recent studies and the focus of the company going forward.

Sirtris' most publicized drug compound, SRT501, a potent blend of micronized resveratrol, is being put on the back burner for treatment of Diabetes in hopes Sirtris' own new replacement SRT2104, a NCE (New Chemical Entity) will provide an even more powerful pharmaceutical replacement.  SRT501 will continue to be used in trials for the treatment of colon cancer and MELAS syndrome.

NCE's are said to be 1000 times more potent then the SRT501 formulation.  Phase 2 clinical trials of SRT2104 should begin some time next year.

In the article Westphal was quoted as saying;

“I think ultimately, from a pharmaceutical-company perspective, a patented, composition-of-matter compound that is 1,000 times more potent is going to be more attractive than reformulated resveratrol, so definitely our focus is more on the NCEs."