Can resveratrol fight obesity?

Resveratrol, an antioxidant commonly found in red wine, was supposed to be the breakout supplement of our time. Many media outlets have praised its anti-cancer, anti-aging, and anti-heart disease properties. The anti-aging claims drew the most attention, as resveratrol seemed to act as a "calorie restriction mimetic" and was theorized to slow aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases. While there have been many promising animal studies^[1], these miraculous benefits have not panned out in human trials^[2].

In NERD #2, we reviewed the ergogenic effects of resveratrol in the context of high-intensity interval training and found that it was unlikely to increase performance^[3] and may even impair training adaptations. Even though most positive health outcomes seen in the animal models don’t usually manifest in humans, there remains a chance that resveratrol supplementation could moderately improve metabolic markers for insulin sensitivity^[4] and cardiovascular health^[5].

The article reviewed here continues to expand our knowledge of how resveratrol operates, inching us closer toward a potentially practical use for the supplement. The study under review examined the effect of resveratrol supplementation on what is known as beige or ‘brown-like’ adipose tissue. The human body contains three distinct types of adipose tissue: white, brown, and beige fat. The basic characteristics of these are described in the sidebar.