Resveratrol: New Promising Reverse Aging Molecule
What if you could live a longer life and in a better state of health. What would you do to see yourself younger and feel the vigor that is usually lost over the years?
The thing is, who would want to live more years with all the ailments that usually appear at a certain age? Live more years with heart problems, dementia or arthritis, among others? No thanks! Right?
But what if the more mature years can be transformed into youth years, or at least in years relative to mid-age? How about continuing to play sports with 60 or 70 years and feel the same vigor as a long shot player in the NBA MVP odds? You could continue to score points every year with a rejuvenated momentum.
According to the latest study published in Nature, only some biological roots cause most of the elderly ailments. Thanks to this discovery, an opportunity was opened to identify a wide range of diseases at the same time and with treatments focused on unique biological mechanisms. Now there can be a huge change in the way certain conditions are treated.
There is a recognized state as the cause of multiple age-related changes: “cell senescence”.
But, what is Cellular Senescence?
In response to DNA damage, there is a state in which proliferating cells become resistant to growth-promoting stimuli known as “stable cell cycle arrest”.
When cells become senescent, basically, their behavior changes in a way that deteriorates the surrounding tissues. We could say that, because of the evolution of organisms, cells survive for longer at their regular reproductive age.
For many years the gerontological community considered cellular senescence as a symptom rather than one of the causes related to physical deterioration over time.
On the other hand, an innovative discovery was recently made that showed that eliminating cell senescent of the mice in the experiment, prevented their regular aging in addition to reversing many of the symptoms that even extend to metabolic dysfunction, Alzheimer’s disease and myocardial infarction, a condition that causes heart attacks.
This research proved that cellular senescent cause aging, potentially helping to develop an “antidote” for anti-aging treatment in humans.
With the cooperation between scientists and major investors, enormous progress was made in the search to remove, kill or rejuvenate cell senescence causing the deterioration of the body.
As an example, after the combination of some drugs such as dasatinib (used to treat leukemia) and quercetin, a natural product found in vegetables. An improvement has been observed in the general health of mice and a longer life.
In preliminary investigations, initial relief has been found to treat physical dysfunctions in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive degenerative lung condition without effective treatment so far.
As an alternative to the rejuvenation of senescent cells, there is Resveratrol: a molecule that can be found in chocolate and red wine, for example.
In previous laboratory research, it was shown that modulation of a small molecule can stop the aging of senescent cells by giving them an identity and that they are capable of growing like young cells.
On the other hand, Fisetin, another natural product found in apples, onions and especially in strawberries. This flavonol, now subject to clinical trials, reduces the load of senescent cells and improves overall health.
This chemical also proved to interact with other key aging mechanisms such as nutrient sensing, a biological mechanism that reflects the already known effects on increasing shelf life and caloric restriction on health.
However, we are still trying to define if these substances are part of a puzzle that helps us integrate coherent solutions or can provide us with a new form of “super-therapy”.
Through these investigations, it has been unequivocally demonstrated that these molecules can produce a wide range of anti-degenerative effects. So far only some pre-existing drugs and natural products have been used.
Foods Rich in Resveratrol
Dark chocolate: Cocoa contains a significant amount of this molecule. Therefore, by consuming chocolate we can take advantage of the benefits of this compound.
Nuts: Nuts and peanuts contain resveratrol in important doses. At the same time, they are a source of amino-unsaturated fats (healthy fats) and high in protein.
Grape and wine: In this case, the greatest amount of this resveratrol is found in the skin of this fruit and then it is passed to the wine following the process of fermentation of the skin.
Blueberries and other berries: This fat-free, low-calorie and high-fiber super-fruit as well as redcurrants, raspberries and blackberries that are also quite rich in this substance.
Final Considerations
The world of pharmacology is getting closer to finding a “cure” against aging. The 21st century will bring us many satisfactions in terms of health and the genuine possibility of living longer and in better conditions for a more active future.