Lyle J. Dennis, M.D.Both exercise and the polyphenol compound resveratrol have been shown to have positive health benefits.
Hundreds of studies have proven that regular aerobic exercise reduces the risk of all diseases and increases lifespan.
Many people who exercise also consume a supplement called resveratrol. This compound, a polyphenol derived from grapes, has been implicated in the French Paradox. People from France have long lifespans despite high fat and high sugar diets it is believed due to regular red wine consumption from which resveratrol is derived.
Further, thousands of studies in animals and cell cultures have shown resvertrol appears to extend lifespan by mimicking the effects of caloric restriction and dampening cell growth pathways.
The current study looked at the effect of resvertrol on the benefit of exercise in sedentary older males, hoping as many people do, the positive effect would be additive.
A group of 27 men over aged 65 were subjected to 8 weeks of of regular high intensity exercise. Half received 250 mg of resveratrol daily whereas the other half got placebo.
It was found that those getting resveratrol exhibited reduced benefit from exercise including on “blood pressure, plasma lipid concentrations and maximal oxygen uptake.”
