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Researchers have demonstrated a powerful protective mechanism for resveratrol against common damage to the arteries that leads to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular deterioration. The information is especially relevant to individuals with elevated blood sugar and other metabolic problems, though it is of potential value for anyone seeking to maintain cardiovascular health.
Lining the inside of your arteries is a coating of endothelial cells. These help regulate your blood pressure as well as provide a barrier of protection between what is floating around in your circulation and the potential accumulation of potentially undesirable substances in the walls of your arteries. This coating of endothelial cells is only one layer of cells deep, meaning it is quite thin. As such, factors that injure it are a first step in setting into motions processes that lead to arterial accumulation of damaged cholesterol and other damaged protein molecules such as advanced glycation end products (AGES), which are a main cause of health deterioration in type 2 diabetics or any person with elevated blood sugar levels (fasting blood sugar should always be 90 or below).
The study shows that under the influence of high blood sugar the integrity of the endothelial cell coating is stressed, actually swelling and becoming permeable so that large molecules can now pass through it and begin inappropriately accumulating in the artery walls. This process is a common health problem for type 2 diabetic patients affecting their coronary arteries, carotid arteries, and circulation in their legs.
Resveratrol was able to stop this leakiness of the endothelial cell coating, helping it to maintain proper structure even in the face of blatant stress. The molecular mechanisms were documented by the researchers, demonstrating the precise mechanism of protective action by resveratrol.
While the study is intended to help type 2 diabetic patients have options to reduce serious cardiovascular disease progression, the mechanism is relevant to the general aging process. Part of aging involves moderate elevations in blood sugar, in turn linking to damaged proteins and forming a sugar-coated cement-like mixture called AGES. This study indicates that resveratrol can help prevent these AGES from permeating into the walls of arteries, thus preventing a major aspect of health deterioration.
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Lining the inside of your arteries is a coating of endothelial cells. These help regulate your blood pressure as well as provide a barrier of protection between what is floating around in your circulation and the potential accumulation of potentially undesirable substances in the walls of your arteries. This coating of endothelial cells is only one layer of cells deep, meaning it is quite thin. As such, factors that injure it are a first step in setting into motions processes that lead to arterial accumulation of damaged cholesterol and other damaged protein molecules such as advanced glycation end products (AGES), which are a main cause of health deterioration in type 2 diabetics or any person with elevated blood sugar levels (fasting blood sugar should always be 90 or below).
The study shows that under the influence of high blood sugar the integrity of the endothelial cell coating is stressed, actually swelling and becoming permeable so that large molecules can now pass through it and begin inappropriately accumulating in the artery walls. This process is a common health problem for type 2 diabetic patients affecting their coronary arteries, carotid arteries, and circulation in their legs.
Resveratrol was able to stop this leakiness of the endothelial cell coating, helping it to maintain proper structure even in the face of blatant stress. The molecular mechanisms were documented by the researchers, demonstrating the precise mechanism of protective action by resveratrol.
While the study is intended to help type 2 diabetic patients have options to reduce serious cardiovascular disease progression, the mechanism is relevant to the general aging process. Part of aging involves moderate elevations in blood sugar, in turn linking to damaged proteins and forming a sugar-coated cement-like mixture called AGES. This study indicates that resveratrol can help prevent these AGES from permeating into the walls of arteries, thus preventing a major aspect of health deterioration.
More...