Press Release Summary: According to the study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai last year, a chemical component present in the skin of red grapes (and, conversely, red wine) can be the key to fighting type 2 diabetes mellitus. The chemical, called resveratrol, promotes the activation of the SIRT 1 enzyme. This enzyme, in turn, regulates the amount of molecule PTP 1B, the culprit behind decreased insulin activity in the body.
Press Release Body: I\'ve been reading around for some news regarding health and found something interesting. This is late news, but still worth mentioning. Not-so-recent developments in scientific research have revealed that the addition of moderate amounts of red wine in your diet can actually help in fighting diabetes.
You heard it right. According to the study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai last year, a chemical component present in the skin of red grapes (and, conversely, red wine) can be the key to fighting type 2 diabetes mellitus. The chemical, called resveratrol, promotes the activation of the SIRT 1 enzyme. This enzyme, in turn, regulates the amount of molecule PTP 1B, the culprit behind decreased insulin activity in the body.
In tests conducted on mice, the introduction of resveratrol into their diet increased the mice\'s sensitivity to insulin. This mirrors the symptoms of diabetes, where human cells begin to deteriorate and lose their sensitivity to insulin; if resveratrol can be successfully used as a means to counteract this form of cell deterioration, it would go a long way in revolutionizing the treatment of diabetes patients.
This, according to the journal Cell Metabolism, could be one of the most important factors in developing a diabetes pill that actually works.
But the beneficial properties of resveratrol don\'t end there.
Resveratrol also has an effect on human brains, specifically the hypothalamus. By injecting controlled doses of SIRT 1 into the hypothalamus, the appetite of a person can be kept in check. In a nutshell, this chemical can function as a glorified method of lessening food intake, which could eventually be part of a medical program to control medical obesity.
However, the amount of red wine a person has to drink in order to get the human equivalent of resveratrol used in the animal tests is pretty impressive: no less than three liters (previously, it was thought to be one hundred and thirty liters).
2012
