Share Your Personal Resveratrol Experience

Have a personal resveratrol experience you'd like to share?  Post it here!

Why do you take resveratrol?  Heart health, diabetes, endurance, sleep, longevity, etc.

How did you hear about resveratrol?  Did you get the benefits you seeked?  Is there any advice you'd like to give to potential resveratrol users? 

We would love to hear more about your own experiences.  It's easy to post your story... just enter the information below and press "Post"!

So, who's NEXT?

(please refrain from posting spam links, thanks!)

Thanks to all who have participated so far.  Please feel free to post follow-up comments in the future.

Comments

[Simon]

How did you hear about resveratrol?
Life Extentension Foundation. I've been taking resveratrol for about 3 years in a very low dosage of 20mg per day. When the new research was published about 12 months ago showing the great promise of Resv I upped the dosage to 100mg per day.

Did you get the benefits you seeked?
Ask me again in 10 years ;-)
Difficult to say. I take so much stuff its hard to tell the effect of any one supplement. I think I am in good health for someone of my age (38).

Is there any advice you'd like to give to potential resveratrol users?
Evangelize. Im amazed everyone isnt taking Resv.

[Christian]

The short story is that I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 1994. I have been hospitalized with it twice and was on several medications. My Mother, two brothers, and nephew were also diagnosed with the disorder with three of them attempting suicide and one succeeding.

I started taking Resv in August 2007 after reading only about the life span experiments. However, I found my Bipolar symptoms were eased in a few months and I have been medication free since January 2008 without reoccurrence of symptoms. This is very unusual for me.

After studying the effects of Resveratrol in scientific studies I feel it has cured me by the following means:

It reduced my sensitivity to dietary glutamate.
Resveratrol Increases Glutamate Uptake, Glutathione Content, and S100B Secretion in Cortical Astrocyte Cultures - http://www.springerlink.com/content/tq18635nk2432275/
Inhibition of excitatory synaptic transmission by trans-resveratrol in rat hippocampus - http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18119956
Dietary-Free Glutamate: Implications for Research on Fear-Overconsolidation and PTSD - http://www.cnsspectrums.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=443

It protects and regrew my hippocampus.
Resveratrol attenuates early pyramidal neuron excitability impairment and death in acute rat hippocampal slices caused by oxygen-glucose deprivation. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18495119
Neuroprotective effects of resveratrol against traumatic brain injury in immature rats - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0G-4NNYJF0-2&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=cffa4323897012ac3b3965a98a71181b

It regulated cellular energy homeostasis
Differences in Lymphocyte Electron Transport Gene Expression Levels Between Subjects With Bipolar Disorder and Normal Controls in Response to Glucose Deprivation Stress - http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/64/5/555
Resveratrol Improves Mitochondrial Function and Protects against Metabolic Disease by Activating SIRT1 and PGC-1a - http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867406014280
Resveratrol stimulates AMP kinase activity in neurons - http://www.pnas.org/content/104/17/7217.abstract

I know this is anecdotal, but my experience is real, so take what you want from what I have expressed in this email. I am just spreading this to share my own personal research to further understanding.

[Larry]

I heard about res in late 2004 just perusing science news and started taking res at about a 40mg a day in 2005. I have been steadily increasing my dose to about 1500 to 2000 mg a day with HPMC or milk. I was very healthy when I started so I can't say I've seen any changes that I couldn't explain as placebo. I would say that my physical endurance has improved to a point that I'm about 90% sure it's not a placebo. Much improved cycling endurance, maybe 20-30%. Steady and excellent blood work over the last 3 years. (48y) Keep your blog going. Nice work.

[Bob R.]

Hi all,

A friend told be about Resveratrol after seeing the 20/20 show with Barbara Walters, interviewing Dr. David Sinclair. He bought a bottle of NSI 100 mg resv capsules. He stopped taking them after about a week, complaining of headaches, and had a blood vessel burst in the white of his eye. This fellow is 60 years old, post bypass patient, on a handful of prescriptions every day including blood thinners. We surmised there might be an unfavorable drug interaction. His heart doctor told him to quit the resv. Other heart patients might take note.

He gave me the unused bottle two months ago, and I've been taking 200 mg/day since.

Background: I'm 54, and a very active fitness buff, do physical work as a carpenter. I have been regularly taking vitamins, fish oil capsules, glucosamine/chondroitin supplements, and occasionally taking protein powder, creatine, L-arginine supplements. Last year I contracted lyme disease from a tick bite, and spent about 6 months on an antibiotic regimen. That reduced my activity level for a while, but hopefully!, that is now behind me.

Results: When I first started resv,I noticed an uptick in my general energy level. Fewer "tired days", and more energetic workouts at the gym. I've now finished the first bottle of capsules, and for 1 week have been taking the Shaklee product called "Vivix", which is acually a liquid containing resv plus some other compounds. I was hesisitant to switch, but Dr. Sinclair, the resv. guru, endorsed the product! I'd be very interested in hearing anyone else's comments or experience with Vivix. It is more expensive than most other resv capsules on the market. Difficult to say, but the Vivix may have produced an additional increase in energy, and better/longer night's sleep, after the first week.

Another anecdote: I recently had an accident in which I sliced my scalp open on a sharp object; bled profusely. I have to say that the healing process from that injury was remarkably quick! Coincidence? I don't know.

I regularly scan google for news stories about resveratrol, and am struck by how few stories are published! For now, I'm a believer, based on personal results.

[Mike]

I've heard about resveratrol for a couple of years, identified as a key helpful compound in red wine. I was intriqued to find that resveratrol was the key ingredient in Biotest's Rez-V, a product sold for increasing free testosterone. I became more interested in it this fall after hearing a story on the radio regarding research by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals (SRT1720). In doing more online research, I came across Markus' website, and I decided to give it a try.

I desire to increase my cardiovascular health, increase my free testoterone, support my physical conditioning efforts (endurance and recovery), and maybe loss a little extra fat in the process.

I currently take 600mg of res. It's NSI 100mg. I take it in two 300mg servings, with breakfast and dinner. I broke up the doses because I started to experience loose bowels with a single 500mg dose.

I read on the RevGenetics website (after reading the interview with Anthony Loera, President of RevGenetics) that res may affect the body's response to calcium channel blockers and statins. I take both amlodipine and simvastatin to help lower my blood pressure, so I'm a little concerned there: if anyone has additional information or an information source regarding resveratrol and these type medicines, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

I've got to say that I can't indentify any true benefits since taking res, but it's only been 3 weeks or so. I'm likely to up the dosage to 800mg daily next week.

[Karen]

I am a 50 year old woman who would like to take Resveratrol, but read that women should not take this supplement due to the increased breast cancer risk. Has there been any studies regarding this possible side effect?

[Milton Washington]

I have Been trying Resveratrol for about 3 weeks now, about 200 mg a day in the morning. I noticed various effects the first day. First of all let me say I am a male, 48, 210, 6'2", and good health. I noticed more energy right away. I actually had trouble sleeping the second night. I am a little sensative to cafeene so maybe a connection. I have also noticed more feeling of being cold. I am in CT where it is usually cold, but I never noticed this before. I am wondering if RESV effects circulation or vein dilation in some way. I will check my blood preasure just to be sure. I am very concerned to feel these effects since most people I read about feel nothing. Has anyone else noticed any of these?

[Admin]

Hi Milton,

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience. How did you make out with the blood pressure check? I don't have any definitive answers for you but I have heard of others having sensitivities to cold. I am not sure where I read it, possible on the Immortality Institute forums. You may want to search there to see if you can find out more info.

Keep us posted,
Markus

[eddie moffett]

I'm currently taking 750mg to 1000mg a day, and I can say without a doubt that this stuff absolutely enhances my athletic ability. I typically run 3, 5k's a week at a 20min time. It's always 20 minutes, give or take 10 seconds, and I'm always exhausted afterward. But, after one week of Resveratrol, I ran an 18:40, and was feeling like I could do it again. Incidentally, it's a hell of an anti-inflammatory; Better than any aspirin or ibuprofen I've experienced. Also, it seems to dramatically shorten the length of the common cold. I love this stuff, but I have to admit, as a few of you have suggested, I'm worried that I could be over doing it. It just seems too good to be true. Has anyone noticed anything negative? Any bad side effects at all?

Thanks.

[Admin]

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've heard of others who run or are into cycling having similar results. For me I've noticed more endurance pretty rapidly after first starting to take resveratrol, that has since tapered off to a much less noticeable increase over time.

As for negative effects, I've heard of some but just as the positive effects they are mostly anecdotal at this time. It's possible they will however be proven true. Some of those have been Achilles pain, tendinitis, arthritic type feelings, and increased sensitivity to cold temperatures.

Perhaps others can chime in with any additional negative side effects they have felt.

By the way, great time on that 18:40 5k... I'm not much of runner but know I couldn't come close to that right now!

[Elizabeth P]

Hello,

As a young person who has been told by doctors in the past that I have chronic fatigue syndrom I am very interested in taking something that would give me more energy.
I contintue to stay active and try to find things that give me more energy. I am also a runner so am interested in the brand that Eddie was taking.

I would like to take 750-1000mg so I want to make sure the brand is reliabe. I have seen the info on Longevinex but would like to research a couple before deciding. I will be posting my results on here. I think this is a great informative site.

Thank you.

[Admin]

Hi Elizabeth,

Welcome to the site and thanks for the kind words!

In general scientific information on resveratrol is hard to come by in humans, with regards to women it's even tougher to find. I know there are many women out there who would be interested in hearing how your experience goes. I've been contacted by several and encourage them to post so hopefully more experience sharing will occur.

I am not a runner personally but I do some pretty intense weight training. I've definitely noticed an increase in endurance since starting resveratrol and know of others who are physically active who experienced the same.

I hope resveratrol helps with your CFS and increases your times.

[John]

Hello everyone! I am also a Resveratrol consumer. I did some research for several months before I started taking it. I also visited a few resveratrol supplement websites before deciding to purchase.

My findings seemed to indicate the amount of resveratrol needed to activate the SIRT gene, which is what everyone wants to do, is 15mg (WebMD-Diabetes Health Center, Red Wine Compound May Curb Diabetes). I also recommend you go to ScienceDaily.com and read the article “Cancer Preventive Properties Identified in Resveratrol, Found in Red Wine, Red Grapes” and WebMD’s article “Can Red Wine Help You Live Longer?” to find information about dosage.

I have tried 100mg. dosage in the past and now have switched to RESVANTAGE. It is 15mg liquid filled and I can control the dosage daily. I also feel a physical difference, having more mental acuity with RESVANTAGE that I was not getting from others. The gelatin capsules are also smaller than the others which make it easier to consume and they are protected against oxygen and light, which has shown to degrade resveratrol. I also found the Resvantage website (www.resvantage.com) to be very helpful with research and education. They have links to many research sites that have helped out plenty. Just go to their “Resveratol in the news” links.

Now, Brian Cook mentioned in this blog that Dr. David Sinclair help Mr. Bill Sardi formulate Longevinex in 2003. But what Brian failed to mention is that the original formulation was only 15mg and without quercetin. Now according to a study by Columbia University (2007 November 1; 224(3): 274-283), resveratrol is easily absorbed compared to other known polyphenols, such as quercitin.

I hope this helps out anyone who is thinking about taking a resveratrol supplement in the near future.

Cheers,

J

[Megan Mitchell]

Okay, I have a strange one to add. I have taken Life Extension 100mg or 250mg for the past year or so and cannot say that I have noticed any difference. However, I adopted (3 months ago) an 11 year old Shih Tzu dog - which weighs 15 lbs - for just under two weeks I have added approximately 40mg of Life Extension resveratrol to his diet and the difference is incredible. (I had added CoQ10 to his diet about a month earlier without noticable effect). His energy increase is remarkable - we have tried to look for any other change that could be responsible, but we have added supplements one at a time so we can try and watch for any digestive upsets - so are quite certain that the resveratrol seems the only addition to his regime at this time. He has gone from walking 16 blocks to running 8 of them and walking the others noticably faster. He also has lots more energy for playing AND stays awake more of the time.

[Mike]

HEART PALPITATIONS ALMOST TOOK ME OUT OF THE GAME!!

I never post anywhere for anything but felt compelled to do so here. I bought 500MG from RevGenetcs and took it for exactly 10 days. On day 5, I was hospitalized for an erratic heart rate that would go from 55 to 145 and stay there for about 90 seconds before returning. I had an electrocardiaologist visit be and tried to talk me into a procedure that cauterizes one of the electrical connections to my heart citing an arrhythmia as the cause. I'm not one to elect medical procedures and my wife urged me to stop resveratrol. I told her she was nuts because I googled it and found nothing about anyone having the same experience. But I figured I'd give it a shot before having my heart zapped.
My heart came completely back to normal within 24 hours of stopping and has been completely normal since. To think that I almost had an irreversible procedure done to my HEART because of some supplement I was taking is unfathomable. I've been researching labs to send to for analysis.

Otherwise, I am a healthy, 45 year old vegetarian and father of two happy to have found the cause. Those were 5 of the scariest days of my life.

Clearly, I am odd man out here. But hopefully, if someone else has the same reaction, they'll find this and get off the resv.

Thanks for letting me post!

Mike

Chicago, IL

[karen]

I may be experiencing an allergic reaction to resveratrol. For the past several weeks, I have had a bright red rash on the dorsum of my hands, with severe pruritis @ times, especially @ night. Also experiencing periorbital edema, erythema and pruritis. Needless to say, i look like hell and am going nuts trying to identify the causative agent.
My experience this AM has made me suspect these symptoms are caused by one of the supplements i take, and resveratrol is my current prime suspect. A few minutes after ingesting my current mix of supplements with some food, i drank some hot tea. Erythema and uritcaria blossomed over much of my body, i noticed slight edema @ ankles and what really got my attention: the tip of my tongue started tingling. I immediately took 50 mg benadryl. The acute anaphylactoid symptoms subsided promptly. Based on this incident, I will be abstaining from ALL supplements for @ least one month, hopeful that my cutaneous symptoms will finally abate.
I have been taking Jarrow Resveratrol Synergy intermittently for several years, and have been having various intermittent rashes that escalated into my recent symptoms.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

[linda M.]

I have had mild episodes of palpitations for years, but 3 days after starting resveratrol, they became so bad that I felt weak, dizzy and light headed. I immediately took 25mg of atenolol to slow my heart rate, and began to feel better. Although I didn't think to take my blood pressure then, in the AM, my BP was very very low (for me) 106/68 and I suspect that it may have been extremely low when I was feeling light-headed and weak. I also experienced a little pruritis and itchy redness on the top of my hand. I have been applying hydrocortisone 1% cream.

[Cliff]

I saw the 60 Minutes segment, and did some research mostly at PubMed, and decided to try it. I also started exercising for like the first time in my life. I've been on this for 2 months, and don't take other suppliments other than Centrum Silver.

The two things I notice:
1) Exercising is going extremely well. I am a lifetime wimp, and I just never have made improvements like this. For example, my body fat went from 29.4% to 26.6% in two months.

2) My hearing was getting worse and worse, and now it is getting better and better. Don't have the numbers on that, but it is quite significant and obvious to me.

[David]

Hello, I started taking 100MG of resveratrol with my other vitamins, Fish Oil, Multi-vitamin and notice within 5 minutes I get light headed?? Will continue to monitor.

[K.K. Dodds]

Hello,

I've been taking Resveratrol Ultra- first, I just need to say this is a shady, scamming company! I'm glad that there are better formulations out there because I cannot give these charlatans my money!

As for the pills, I've been taking them (the bottle does not state how many milligrams) twice a day for 2 weeks. I have noticed 2 things: Increased energy and a decrease in appetite. Has anyone else felt their appetite has been curbed as a result of taking resveratrol?

as anyone heard of any specific benefits it has to women?

Thanks for this site! Very informative!

K.K.

[Kelly]

Hello,
I just took two Resveratrol Ultra pills for the first yesterday morning (total 500 mg). I am a 43 yr old woman, healthy and typically work out 4 times a week. A few hours after taking the pills, while sitting at the computer, I became seriously dizzy for a few seconds. I stood up and the sensation continued for a few more seconds. It was extremely unpleasant. I should add I take no other supplements aside from vitamins but haven't been taking those for several weeks and I don't drink coffee. These pills are the only thing I can attribute the dizziness too.
I took the pills at 10 a.m. I went to bed around midnight and had difficulty falling asleep. The entire day I felt I was moving at a quicker pace than I normally do and by bedtime, it had not subsided.

I did feel my appetite had been completely curbed for several hours but not at the expense of this dizzy episode. For me, I'm going to stop taking the pills and wait for the scientific research on human trials and possibly FDA approval.

I was happy to have found this site and read others experience with it. Thank you.

kv

[Kris]

My husband and I have been taking resveratrol for a month or so. I haven't noticed any effects either way, but I think my husband is allergic to it. After taking resveratrol, he can't get comfortable in bed, he's chilled and can't get warm, and he's nauseated. Has anyone else experienced symptoms like this? Not sure what ingredient is causing this.

[Admin]

Hi Kris,
What other ingredients are in the product you are using? I have heard of others with similar symptoms. They said it either went away or they discontinued use. Some tried a different product.

[Kris]

This particular pill contains: Knotweed extract, muscadine grape seed, rice flour, vegetable stearate, Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose. Nothing that jumps out as a red flag (to my untrained eye). Flu-like symptoms are very unpleasant, so I'm not sure that I'll get him to try a different version, which is too bad.

[Heather Rozier]

I have only taken this product for a very short period of time but unfortunately it gave me a feeling of arthritic inflammation in all my joints. I had to stop taking it as my finger, shoulder and foot joints became so painful. I am unable to wear my rings that have fit me since my 20's and I am a fit, 58 year old, 5'2" and weigh 112 pounds.