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Resveratrol Increases Lipolysis and Reduces Lipogenesis in Mature Adipocytes

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If you are (as I hope) an avid reader and daily visitor of the SuppVersity, you probably remember Friday's news on the " Side Effects of Polyphenol Supplementation ". I just hope you did not throw away all your supplements immediately, because eventually the question of side effects is always relative. If, for example, you are a sumo competitor and in dire need of gaining mass, no matter what. It would be an unwelcome side-effect of resveratrol supplementation not to gain or even to lose body fat... A report ( Baile. 2011 ), recently published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences does now confirm, what supplement companies have been promising all along: the right dose of supplemental resveratrol will limit fat gain and improve lipolysis in a mouse model: Treatment of mice with resveratrol alone was shown to improve resistance to weight gain caused by a high-fat diet. Moreover, dietary supplementation of aged ovariectomized rats with a combination o...
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1.200 IU Vitamin D Won't Raise 25OH-D Levels Enough to See Beneficial Effects on Markers of Cardiovascular Health

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In the course of the last weeks, I have refrained from posting each of the 1001 studies on vitamin D that appear in the myriad of medical magazines each month. It is simply too much, mostly very irrelevant information. A recent study by Maki et al. ( Maki. 2011 ) is yet interesting insofar, as it provides some insight into the amounts of supplemental vitamin D one would probably need to see some cardiovascular benefits. After supplementing the diets of their subjects with either a standard multi-vitamin or the multi-vitamin + 1,200IU of vitamin D for 8 weeks, the researcers measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in subjects with high waist circumference and found: There was a significant difference in mean change for 25(OH)D between the MVM and MVM+D treatment groups ( − 1.2 ± 2.5 nmol/l vs. 11.7 ± 3.0 nmol/l, respectively; P  = 0.003). Vitamin D 1,200 IU/day did not inc...
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Another Good Reason to Take Creatine: Creatine Helps with Exercise Induced Arterial Stiffness

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If there is one supplement out there on the fitness market that is really worth each cent you spend on it, it is probably creatine monohydrate . In a recent study, scientists from the Florida State University ( Sanchez-Gonzalez. 2011 ) report on the positive effects, of creatine supplementation (creatine monohydrate @ 2x5g /day for 3 weeks) on arterial stiffness and hemodynamics in 16 healthy male subjects: Compared with the Pl group, the Cr group had attenuated (P\0.05) increases in SBP [systolic blood pressure] at PE5 [5 minutes post exercise] (Pl 14.0 ± 2.5, Cr 5.6 ± 2.3 mmHg), HR [heart rate] at both P5 (Pl 28 ± 4 vs. Cr 16 ± 2 beats/min) and PE15 (Pl 21 ± 3, Cr 11 ± 2 beats/min) and rate pressure product at P5 (Pl 45.8 ± 6.4, Cr 24.8 ± 2.2) and P15 (Pl 34.2 ± 5.0, Cr 15.9 ± 6.0). Compared with the Pl group, the Cr group had suppressed increases in baPWV [brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity] at PE5 (Pl 1.5 ± 0.4, Cr-0.1 ± 0.4 m/s) and PE15 (Pl 1.1 ± 0.2, Cr -0.3 ± 0.3 m/s)...
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Unexpected Side Effects of Flavonoid Supplementation: Do You have to Re-Evaluate the Use of EGCG, Grape Seed Extract & Co?

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It is pretty exciting to see how scientists find new beneficial constituents in common foods on a daily basis. A group of these phytoprotectants is called "flavonoids". Respective extracts from grapes, green tea, etc. have been shown to exhibit various health benefits and supplement companies make a fortune selling them to health-conscious costumers. The question however remains: Did nature really intend us to consume these trace nutrients in such significant amounts ? Table 1: Potential beneficial and adverse effect of flavonoid supplements. ( Egert. 2011 ) Scientists from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science of the University in Bonn, Germany ( Egert. 2011 ), have now taken a closer look at possible side-effects of a selection of these phytoprotectants. Among the possible interaction and health concerns the scientists have found were Flavonoid - trace element interactions - reduced the uptake of iron (and possible other trace elements) Flavonoid - vitamin i...
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Melatonin, Magnesium and Zinc for a Healthy Night of High Quality Sleep

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Sleeping disorders are very common in our hectic society and sleeping pills are among the no.1 drugs (ab-)used by the general public. At least in a very restricted group of subjects, the combination of melatonin , magnesium and zinc has now proven a very viable and certainly more natural alternative to the highly advertised "chemical maces" of the big pharma companies. Figure 1: Effects of treatment of the primary end point. Mean Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (marker) are reported at baseline and at 8 weeks for the melatonin, magnesium, and zinc (left) and placebo (right) participants, together with their standard deviations (whiskers). (Figure 2 from Rondanelli. 2011 ) In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial set in along-term care facility in Pavia, Italy, researchers from the University of Pavia ( Rondanelli. 2011 ) found a combination of 5 mg melatonin , 225 mg magnesium , and 11.25 mg zinc , mixed with 100 g of pear pulp taken 1 hour before bed...
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Ginkgo, Ginseng, Green Tea: Only one of the G's may be worth Supplementing

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In the most recent episode of their supplement review (which is usually very critical) the British Journal of Sports Medicine ( BJSM Review. Part 17 ) has a look at studies on the ergogenic potential of ginkgo , ginseng and green tea , all of which are heavily advertised for their beneficial effects on health, long jeopardy and mental, as well as physical performance. In the case of Ginkgo an Ginseng, the studies that have been considered in this review provide very inconclusive evidence for and against their use as ergogenics or medical plants. With regards to the underlying reasons for the discrepancies which have been reported, the reviewers argument that both, the origin, as well as the processing techniques may have influenced the efficiency of ginkgo and ginseng products. green tea , on the other hand, "shows some promise" - regular readers of this review series will know that this is already a great praise! Although evidence is limited, green tea extract, ...
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Resveratrol Fails to Ameliorate inflammatory response and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness After a Marathon

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Resveratrol , an antioxidant polyphenol from the skin of red grapes, has now been around for quite a while and as it was in the case of almost every other antioxidant which was hailed as a powerful panaceum (e.g. vitamin E ) it slowly transpires that the real life value of resveratrol may well fall short of the expectations its potency in (mostly) in vitro studies rose among scientists and laymen alike. For some of you it may yet still come as a surprise that the results of a double placebo-controlled randomised trial conducted at the London Marathon 2010 ( Laupheimer. 2011 ) fall short of the expectations the colorful advertisements and cited abstracts from in vitro studies may raise in many half-informed customers: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of changes occurring between pre and post-tests for WBC [white blood cell count], CRP [C reactive protein] or VAS [a measure of muscle soreness] (p=0.857, 0.629 and...
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