Resveratrol and vitamin D synergistically team to boost metabolism and prevent obesity

Monday, September 19, 2011 by: John Phillip

(NaturalNews) Resveratrol has been on the nutritional radar of researchers because of its proven ability to mimic some of the life-extending characteristics provided by calorie restriction as seen in animals and humans alike. Scientists publishing in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research draw a solid link between resveratrol, vitamin D and other phytonutrients as agents that may lend a helping hand in the life-threatening battle against overweight and obesity.

Researchers document the newly discovered effect of the nature-derived nutrient on lipid metabolism, and they demonstrate that supplementation along with the sunshine vitamin and quercetin synergistically decreases the formation of new fat cells in the body. This finding is significant because it may provide a critical metabolic aid to children and adults that suffer the health-damaging effects of obesity every day. Further evidence exists to hail the trio in the genesis of osteoblasts in bone marrow that may offer a new therapy for osteoporosis that affects the mobility of millions of aging adults.

Scientists studying metabolism in aging adults have found that stem cells differentiate in favor of adipocytes (fat cells) and to the exclusion of osteoblasts (cells necessary for the formation of new bone). This means that as we age, our body has evolved to store fat as an aid to our survival. As metabolism slows, we continue to eat the same number of calories that helps to fill the newly acquired adipocytes. While building and maintaining bone structure may sound like a good idea to us, it is not pre-programmed into our genetic matrix.

Development of new fat cells has evolved as a protective mechanism, although the vast majority of older adults really don't need this genetic advantage. Researchers found that supplemented resveratrol, vitamin D and quercetin work together to regulate our genes and down regulate the production of fat cells while boosting the production of osteoblasts. Naturally it is important to practice caloric restriction as we age. Many aging adults will be able to utilize this phytonutrient trio to prevent excess weight gain and the debilitating effects of osteoporosis.

In addition to the well documented anti-cancer and longevity benefits previously ascribed to supplemented resveratrol, health-minded individuals will want to include resveratrol and other phytonutrients as an aid in the fight against abdominal fat accumulation. Researchers concluded: "It should be noted that combining resveratrol with other phytochemicals may provide an extraordinary potential for preventing obesity and osteoporosis. These phytochemical synergies may make possible novel safe, potent and efficacious therapies." Be sure to include resveratrol (25 to 50 mg per day) in your dietary arsenal to assist weight loss and boost metabolism and to prevent bone loss.

Article References:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...
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More evidence Alzheimer's and other dementia can be prevented: save your brain by preventing diabetes

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by: S. L. Baker, features writer
(NaturalNews) Currently, an estimated 24 million people world-wide are living with Alzheimer's disease or some other type of the mind and personality-robbing affliction known as dementia. And the numbers keep climbing. But why? Mainstream medicine puts the blame on the fact people are living longer and genetics offers little hope to stop dementia unless Big Pharma comes up with some miracle pill - an approach that so far has failed miserably.

However, now there's evidence much dementia could be triggered by another disease that is often preventable and even reversible with natural health strategies.

A new study just published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reveals diabetes significantly increases the risk of developing dementia. And type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease which has reached epidemic proportions, is due primarily to obesity and inactivity. That suggests that by taking control of your health with good nutrition and exercise, you may be able to not only prevent diabetes but also dementia.

"Our findings emphasize the need to consider diabetes as a potential risk factor for dementia," said study author Yutaka Kiyohara, MD, PhD, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, in a media statement. "Diabetes is a common disorder, and the number of people with it has been growing in recent years all over the world. Controlling diabetes is now more important than ever."

The research found people with diabetes were more likely to develop both Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, such as vascular dementia. Vascular dementia results when blood vessels become damaged and interrupt oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain.

In all, the scientists studied 1,017 people age 60 and older who were given a glucose (sugar) tolerance test after fasting overnight in order to test for diabetes. Then, over the course of about 11 years, the research subjects were followed and tested for dementia. During this time, 232 people developed the memory destroying disease. People with diabetes had double the risk for dementia when compared to those with normal blood sugar levels.

These findings remained consistent even after the researchers accounted for other factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol and smoking. The risk of dementia was also higher in people who did not have diabetes, but had impaired glucose tolerance. This "pre-diabetes" condition is also part of a cluster of symptoms (including being overweight, having high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels) known as metabolic syndrome which has become widespread and is already known to raise the risk for heart disease as well as diabetes - and now dementia can be added to this list.

The new study findings are actually positive because, as NaturalNews as previously covered, there are numerous ways to reduce and sometimes even reverse type 2 diabetes -- by keeping weight under control, exercise and adding specific foods to a healthy diet.

For example, last summer Harvard School of Public Health investigators discovered eating two or more servings of brown rice per week slashed the risk of type 2 diabetes (http://www.naturalnews.com/029143_b...).

In addition, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that adding a daily serving of mixed nuts to the traditional Mediterranean diet (which consists of whole grain cereals, vegetables, fruits and olive oil, a moderate intake of fish and alcohol and a low intake of dairy, meats and sweets) is a delicious, natural and effective way to treat metabolic syndrome (http://www.naturalnews.com/025098_n...).

For more information:

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