Resveratrol aids diabetes in animal study

Type 1 Diabetes requires insulin use. People with type 2 diabetes usually eventually become Type 1 diabetics and will have to use insulin because secretion of insulin by cells in the pancreas becomes exhausted. In the present study rats were given the antibiotic streptozotocin to induce diabetes. Once the diabetes occurred it was found that supplementing with resveratrol caused the plasma glucose to drop by 25 % within two weeks. Triglycerides were reduced by 50% compared to the nonsupplemented rats (triglyceride is a blood fat associated with increased risk of stroke and heart attack and it is usually elevated in diabetics [elevated triglycerides can contribute to heart disease, to pancreatitis and to liver damage]). The Resveratrol ameliorated common symptoms of diabetes including body weight loss, polyphagia (terrible hunger), and polydipsia (extreme thirst). Resveratrol also decreased abnormal insulin secretion and delayed the onset of insulin resistance. Further research showed that resveratrol increased the uptake of glucose by liver cells, fat cells, and muscle and improved the creation of glycogen by the liver; glycogen is the storage form of glucose used in the liver and muscle - moving the body back towards normal metabolic function. The studies are published in the January 24th, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism.

Hopefully none of us will encounter an agent as destructive as mustard gas, but it is good for us to note that these particular antioxidants are very lung friendly and that available oral supplement levels have shown protective activity in research.

Chemoprevention of lung cancer by Green Tea is common in animal studies

The risk of lung cancer in smokers is estimated to be 20 times that of a person who has never smoked, and recent evidence indicates an increased risk of lung cancer with second hand smoke exposure. Most animal studies indicate that Green Tea has strong chemopreventive effects against lung tumor development. The reported mechanisms of protection by green tea include:

• Antioxidant activity (this reduces damage to cells caused by inflammatory free radicals)
• Induction of Phase II detoxification enzymes (these deactivate and remove dangerous chemicals)
• Inhibition of TNF alpha - a major contributor to inflammation when inappropriately released
• Inhibition of abnormal cell proliferation
• Induction of apoptosis (the destruction of abnormal and cancerous cells)
• Cell cycle arrest - stopping the growth and reproduction of cancer cells