It's quite likely that until 2009 when the CBS news magazine 60 Minutes twice broadcast a segment

on RESVERATROL, and some 17 years after an earlier segment suggested possible health benefits from drinking red wine, only scientists and academics knew much about this substance. Indeed resveratrol, derived from the skin of grapes and present in red wine, may have been thought by some to have only modest therapeutic value. But in 2003 two young, enterprising scientists from the Boston area, Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D. and David Sinclair, Ph.D., collaborated and discovered that resveratrol may well be a major contributor to human longevity. Essentially their research lead to the understanding that resveratrol activates a normally dormant gene, the sirtulin gene, which in turn initiates a survival mechanism that improves the quality of life. Clinically, the effect of prescribed resveratrol in concentrated form is believed to eliminate the onset and/or manage ailments associated with aging. These ailments can include the most dreaded diseases such as cardiovascular, Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes to name but a few. With this theory in mind Westphal and Sinclair formed the Cambridge-based company Sirtris whose goal it is to develop a strong synthetic form of resveratrol to treat patients afflicted with these diseases. With the unlimited potential of patenting prescription medications the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, and its estimated cash reserves of $9.5 billion, bought Sirtris for nearly three quarters of a billion dollars and today its founders serve on Sirtris' Scientific Advisory Board. Word about resveratrol began circulating by the mid 1990s despite the fact that no clear explanation for its efficacy could be offered. Big name physicians praised resveratrol on TV and to their credit never endorsed any particular brand but that didn't stop unscrupulous suppliers of resveratrol from claiming physician "endorsements" of their products even to the extent of using likenesses in their advertisements. Nevertheless, neither Sirtris nor GlaxoSmithKline saw fit to release a non-prescription version of resveratrol but a non-prescription bottle of 120 capsules, 250 mg., appeared in the 60 Minutes piece. Among those hawking their own brand of resveratrol today are online physicians who practice complementary medicine. The field for marketing resveratrol is wide open and any establishment that sells resveratrol will usually display at least two or three brands with varying potencies. This writer and a colleague specializing in Applied Kinesiology decided to randomly evaluate store shelf brands of resveratrol by employing AK testing techniques. Much to our surprise and delight only one sample yielded consistently high marks for its efficacy. The brand is trunature and the label reads, trunature Maximum Strength Resveratrol 120 softgels, 250 mg. -- the same number and strength as the bottle depicted in the 60 Minutes segment. Curiously, only this particular trunature resveratrol product passed testing. It is sold at Costco pharmacy and online at amazon.com for about $20/bottle. Historically it appears that resveratrol is going through the same growing pains as nutrients or biological processes that have been shown to be effective therapies. The most noteworthy example involves the work of Nobel Laureate Louis Ignarro, Ph.D. Dr. Ignarro's research demonstrated the signalling properties of the gas nitric oxide (NO) in humans and that NO is produced by two relatively inexpensive OTC amino acids, L-argenine

and L-citrulline. The Big Pharma company Pfizer adopted Ignarro's research to produce Viagra (sildenafil citrate), the first of several NO-inspired medications intended to increase blood circulation in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Many, perhaps most men, would do just as well taking the non-prescription, non-toxic amino acids rather than toxic medications that risk permanent side effects. Dr. Ignarro's books are available online at amazon.com and his protocol complements non-prescription resveratrol usage. President Dwight David Eisenhower warned of the possible conflict of interest in what he termed the "Military Industrial Complex." This term referred to senior military officers who on retirement gained employment in the defense industry. This same conflict of interest scenario seems analogous to senior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials who retire from government service and find lucrative positions in the two industries they were required to regulate. It is no secret that the FDA exercises an antagonistic attitude toward the natural health care movement and in contrast to glossing over industrial abuses such as the continued manufacture of the toxic "food additive" Bisphenol A (BPA). Inevitably research will yield breakthroughs in nutritional science and the FDA will attempt to exert its Big Brother role of regulation. As health conscious consumers we must assert our rights and independence from their control of non-prescription nutrition. To make matters worse the influential Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) aligns himself with FDA policy and the pharmaceutical lobby to routinely enact legislation that dilutes health freedoms Americans expect and take for granted. If Illinois voters continue to re-elect this senator voters in 49 other states have the responsibility to contact their representatives to pass laws that strengthen health freedoms and put distance between the FDA and the natural health care movement.

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