Resveratrol has been a hot topic since the early 2000s, when it was shown to extend lifespan in multiple animal models.

Resveratrol has never been directly evaluated on human longevity due to our long-life expectancy.

However, resveratrol has shown an ability to improve multiple markers of aging in randomized, placebo-controlled trials.

These clinical trials have shown that resveratrol provides benefits for aged groups and people with metabolic diseases such as obesity and type II diabetes. This indicates that it may support healthy aging for other groups as well.

The Potential of Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in red wine and grapes, berries, and some other plants.

It has long been thought to provide a possible explanation for the "French paradox," the observation that French people, who consume moderate amounts of wine, have low incidence of coronary heart disease despite diets rich in saturated fats.¹

Many experiments involving short-lived animals such as flies, worms, bees, fish, and mice have found that resveratrol intake increased lifespan.^2,3 Giving honeybees resveratrol, for example, increased their maximum lifespan by 38%.⁴

It's very challenging to measure lifespan in human trials, due to our long lives. It is much more practical to measure biomarkers that reflect our health status and disease risk.

In the past two decades, scientists have tested resveratrol on multiple human biomarkers. In clinical trials, taking resveratrol has been shown to improve:

• Glucose levels and insulin resistance,
• Heart health, and
• Bone health.

Heart and Diabetes Benefits

Type II diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance and high blood sugar. It inflicts persistent oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation, drivers of nearly all age-related chronic disease.

In a clinical trial of 110 adults who suffered from diabetes for at least five years, participants took either 200 mg of resveratrol or a placebo daily for 24 weeks. Compared to the placebo, those who received resveratrol had reductions in fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c (a marker of glucose levels over time), and markers of oxidative stress and inflammation.

The researchers report a mean 8.6% decrease in fasting insulin and a 14% decrease in a marker of insulin resistance.⁵ Note that fasting insulin is often elevated in early stage type II diabetics. The pancreas secretes high insulin to initially help compensate for the insulin resistance that elevates blood glucose.

In a meta-analysis of 17 randomized, controlled trials of nearly 900 patients with diabetes, those who took at least 500 mg of resveratrol daily lowered fasting glucose, total cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c, and systolic (top number) blood pressure compared to a placebo.⁶

Resveratrol may also improve cardiac remodeling, harmful changes in the heart's size, shape, and function that occur in response to cardiac disease or damage.

In a clinical trial published in 2023, 80 people with hypertension who took 400 mg of resveratrol daily for six months, along with conventional therapy, had significantly greater improvements in measurements of cardiac remodeling and markers of oxidative stress, healthy aging, and mitochondrial maintenance compared to those who received conventional therapy alone.⁷

What You Need to Know

The Anti-Aging Effects of Resveratrol

• Resveratrol, a compound found in red wine and grapes, has been shown to extend lifespan in animal models.
• In human trials, resveratrol reduced blood glucose levels, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, and markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in adults with type II diabetes.
• Resveratrol also improved cardiac remodeling, harmful changes to the heart resulting from cardiac damage or disease.
• Multiple human trials have shown benefits for bone health, including increases in bone density and a marker of bone formation.
• These benefits indicate wide-reaching effects that may promote healthy aging in adults.

Strengthening Bones

The body is continuously recycling old bone for new bone in a crucial process known as bone remodeling.

As we age past adulthood, bone breakdown tends to exceed the rate of bone formation. Resveratrol may reverse this, resulting in a net increase in bone formation.⁸

Different groups of people at high risk of osteoporosis have obtained bone benefits from resveratrol supplementation.

In one trial, men with obesity who took 1,000 mg of resveratrol daily had a 2.6% increase in bone mineral density of the spine after 16 weeks and a 16% increase in bone alkaline phosphatase, a marker for bone formation, after four weeks, compared to a placebo.⁹

Another trial randomized 192 people with type II diabetes to take either resveratrol (40 mg or 500 mg) or a placebo daily. After six months, the placebo group had significantly decreased bone mineral content and density. Both resveratrol groups preserved bone mineral density, and the group that received the 500 mg dose also preserved bone mineral content. Interestingly, in subgroup analyses of alcohol drinkers and those with deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, resveratrol not only maintained bone mineral density, but increased it.¹⁰

In another study, postmenopausal women who took 75 mg of resveratrol twice daily for 12 months had an increase in bone mineral density of the femoral neck and lumbar spine and a reduction in the 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fracture or hip fracture. In addition, a marker of bone turnover called C-terminal telopeptide was significantly lowered, indicating an improvement in the bone turnover process. A subgroup of those taking resveratrol that also took calcium and vitamin D had the greatest improvement in bone density

These effects on heart and bone health, glucose metabolism, and longevity biomarkers indicate that resveratrol may help promote healthy aging in adults.

Summary

Resveratrol has been credited as a potential healthy aging nutrient since the early 2000s, when it was shown to increase lifespan in multiple animal models.

Since then, human trials have found that resveratrol may have biological benefits in aged groups and those with metabolic disease such as obesity and type II diabetes.

Among other results, it improved the health of the heart and bones, reduced elevated blood sugar and improved insulin sensitivity, and reduced oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

These benefits may extend to other groups to promote overall healthy aging.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension® Wellness Specialist at 1-866-864-3027.

References

1. Bonnefont-Rousselot D. Resveratrol and Cardiovascular Diseases. Nutrients. 2016;8(5).
2. Hector KL, Lagisz M, Nakagawa S. The effect of resveratrol on longevity across species: a meta-analysis. Biol Lett. 2012;8(5):790-3.
3. Zhou DD, Luo M, Huang SY, et al. Effects and Mechanisms of Resveratrol on Aging and Age-Related Diseases. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2021;2021:9932218.
4. Rascón B, Hubbard BP, Sinclair DA, Amdam GV. The lifespan extension effects of resveratrol are conserved in the honey bee and may be driven by a mechanism related to caloric restriction. Aging (Albany NY). 2012;4(7):499-508.
5. Mahjabeen W, Khan DA, Mirza SA. Role of resveratrol supplementation in regulation of glucose hemostasis, inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2022;66:102819.
6. Abdelhaleem IA, Brakat AM, Adayel HM, et al. The effects of resveratrol on glycemic control and cardiometabolic parameters in patients with T2DM: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Med Clin (Barc). 2022;158(12):576-85.
7. Zheng X, Hai J, Yang Y, et al. Effects of resveratrol supplementation on cardiac remodeling in hypertensive patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Hypertens Res. 2023;46(6):1493-503.
8. Ahmad Hairi H, Jayusman PA, Shuid AN. Revisiting Resveratrol as an Osteoprotective Agent: Molecular Evidence from In Vivo and In Vitro Studies. Biomedicines. 2023;11(5).
9. Ornstrup MJ, Harsløf T, Kjær TN, et al. Resveratrol increases bone mineral density and bone alkaline phosphatase in obese men: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014;99(12):4720-9.
10. Bo S, Gambino R, Ponzo V, et al. Effects of resveratrol on bone health in type 2 diabetic patients. A double-blind randomized-controlled trial. Nutr Diabetes. 2018;8(1):51.
11. Wong RH, Thaung Zaw JJ, Xian CJ, Howe PR. Regular Supplementation With Resveratrol Improves Bone Mineral Density in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Bone Miner Res. 2020;35(11):2121-31.