Resveratrol Supplements and Diabetes
According to a new study conducted by Jill Crandall, an endocrinologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, intake of resveratrol supplements increases insulin sensitivity in human patients suffering from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) - also known as “pre-diabetes.” Resveratrol is an organic polyphenolic compound found in red wine, grapes and other foods that have a number of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cardio-protective health benefits. The results of the study were presented during a meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
Insulin Sensitivity
Pre-diabetes patients taking resveratrol supplements demonstrated lower post-meal glucose levels and improved insulin sensitivity – an encouraging outcome with potential implications for those with type 2 diabetes or at high risk for the condition.
Insulin Resistance
A related study by Meredith Hawkins, M.D., from the Global Diabetes Initiative at Einstein reported on the effect of resveratrol in overweight, middle-aged subjects who were insulin resistant. As people either age or gain weight, they don’t respond to insulin as well as younger or thinner people do. Some people even reject the action of insulin- a condition known as insulin resistance- and as a result don’t burn or take in glucose competently, which can eventually result in diabetes. In her resveratrol study, Dr. Hawkins detected a 40 percent increase in insulin sensitivity, as well as improvements in mitochondrial function, concluding that resveratrol supplementation may serve as a treatment for this condition.
Resveratrol Dosage Used
Resveratrol supplements containing resveratrol quantities much higher than found in foods or wine- were given to people in this study. According to Dr. Crandall, the concentrations of Resveratrol contained in the supplements were much higher than “even several bottles of wine”.
Buccal Delivery is Key to Resveratrol Absorption and Bio-Availability
The only way to safely consume dosages of resveratrol similar to those used in clinical studies is through supplementation. Studies show that the most efficient way of consuming resveratrol supplements is by directly absorbing the substance through the inside of the mouth without swallowing. This method is known as “buccal delivery.”
When absorbed through the mouth’s epithelial tissue, resveratrol supplements avoid being directly metabolized by the intestines and liver. In human experiments, only trace amounts of resveratrol were found in plasma when taken as pills or capsules. On the other hand, buccal delivery supplementation with intraoral absorption produced up to 250 times higher levels of unchanged resveratrol in blood plasma. Resveratrol fast melting tablets from EZ MELTS are designed for buccal delivery, and provide the highest dosage of resveratrol available in an intraoral supplement in the market.
Resveratrol may Prevent Eye Disease and Macular Degeneration
The American Journal of Pathology reports that researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO have discovered new implications for the use of resveratrol – the polyphenol compound found in red wine – for preserving vision in blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy as well as age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 50. The study’s senior investigator, specialist Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, familiar with the research which links resveratrol as an anti-aging compound, was interested in researching its effects to age-related eye disease.
Effects of Resveratrol in Angiogenesis Process
The formation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, plays a key role in certain cancers and fat deposits that can clog arteries. Experiments were conducted in mouse retinas, and researchers found that resveratrol can inhibit angiogenesis. Mice that had developed abnormal blood vessels in the retina after laser treatment were given resveratrol, after which the abnormal blood vessels began to disappear.
Benefits of Resveratrol as Treatment for Eye Diseases
A resveratrol supplement treatment may help three major eye diseases: age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. All these diseases involve the obstruction or development of abnormal blood vessels beneath. Taking into account the almost 24 million persons affected with diabetes in the United States alone, and the aging of an entire generation of baby boomers, the incidence of these diseases is expected to grow within the next 10 years.
“This could potentially be a preventive therapy in high-risk patients,” says Dr. Apte. “And because it worked on existing, abnormal blood vessels in the animals, it may be a therapy that can be started after angiogenesis has already started to cause its damage.”
Because resveratrol is given orally, patients may prefer it to many current treatments for retinal disease, which involve eye injections.
Buccal Absorption of Resveratrol Supplements
The trials conducted involved large resveratrol dosage, much more than would be found in several bottles of red wine. This compound is easily absorbed in the body, but is most bioavailable when taken in the form of an intraoral buccal delivery resveratrol supplement. Absorption of resveratrol through the buccal mucosa without swallowing has been shown to have up to 250 greater levels of the compound in the blood plasma when compared to regular pills or capsules.