Resveratrol

Practicing evidenced-based medicine some 25 centuries ago, Hippocrates proclaimed "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." This advice parallels the common American saying, "You are what you eat," and is supported by a National Institute of Health recommendation to consume as many as eight servings of fruits and vegetables daily to prev

The use of antioxidants in sports is controversial due to existing evidence that they both support and hinder athletic performance. Antioxidants in Sport Nutrition covers antioxidant use in the athlete ́s basic nutrition and discusses the controversies surrounding the usefulness of antioxidant supplementation. The book also stresses how antioxidants may affect immunity, health, and exercise performance. The book contains scientifically based chapters explaining the basic mechanisms of exercise-induced oxidative damage. Also covered are methodological approaches to assess the effectiveness of antioxidant treatment. Biomarkers are discussed as a method to estimate the bioefficacy of dietary/supplemental antioxidants in sports. This book is useful for sport nutrition scientists, physicians, exercise physiologists, product developers, sport practitioners, coaches, top athletes, and recreational athletes. In it, they will find objective information and practical guidance.

Recent advances have contributed to our understanding of how a plant-based diet confers many health advantages and how substances from plants may be effective in the prevention of specific cancers. The Ninth Annual Research Conference of the American Institute for Cancer Research has focused on the latest developments in several categories of nutrients of wide contemporary interests. The conference sessions included such topics as the effects of soy, green tea, selenium, wine, grapes, and spices in cancer prevention. This conference was held in Washington, D.C. on September 2nd and 3rd, 1999, and was entitled Nutrition and Cancer Prevention: New Insights Into the Roles of Phytochemicals. The discussion program included a session that was devoted to the current status of herbal products in relation to cancer prevention, in recognition of the increasing attention that complementary and alternative medicine has been receiving from the scientific community as well as the general public. A separate presentation addressed the issue of nutritional supplements and cancer prevention.

In recent years, great attention has been paid to polyphenols due to their positive effects on health. One of the most widely-studied phenolic compounds is resveratrol. This molecule, which is naturally present in some foods, shows beneficial effects on various physiological and biochemical processes, thus representing a potential tool for the prevention or the treatment of diseases highly prevalent in our society. Several of these beneficial effects have been observed in human beings, but others only in pre-clinical studies so far, and therefore, it is mandatory to continue with the scientific research in this field. Indeed, new knowledge concerning these issues could enable the development of novel functional foods or nutraceuticals, incorporating resveratrol, suitable for preventing or treating diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, dislipemia, insulin resistance and diabetes, liver diseases, etc.

Practicing evidenced-based medicine some 25 centuries ago, Hippocrates proclaimed "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." This advice parallels the common American saying, "You are what you eat," and is supported by a National Institute of Health recommendation to consume as many as eight servings of fruits and vegetables daily to prev

This book intends to strike a balance between developments in research and the fact that researchers must absorb and link to scientific advances with clinical practice so that the management of diseases can be based on sound physiological concepts. This book addresses several controversial issues regarding a natural molecule with fascinating pharmacological and therapeutic effects. The book contains three sections: Section 1: Pharmacology and Therapeutic Applications of Resveratrol; Section 2: Bioavailability, Metabolism, and Mode of Action of Resveratrol; Section 3: Resveratrol and Its Role in Chronic and Degenerative Diseases. Does it Add Life to Years or Years to Life? It is our hope that this book will motivate readers to approach the evidence on the use resveratrol and thereby spark an interest in making further contributions to the current scientific debate and treatment development efforts.

Resveratrol is a structurally simple, grape-derived polyphenol with seemingly boundless biological activities. The Editors have assembled a group of renowned scientists who have illustrious careers and lifelong passions for studies of this compound. Each chapter covers topics using published and, at times, unpublished data to provide scholarly and comprehensive reviews and perspectives. Several areas with basic clinical and public health interests are highlighted. The book is intended to serve as a text and reference covering recent research findings and clinical applications in the field.The content is presented in several parts: mechanistic leads provided by laboratory studies of resveratrol; cellular and molecular targets of resveratrol; modulation of disease states by resveratrol; virtual leads and drug discovery.