Ulcerative colitis is like a lot of other diseases – it’s no fun to have it and it ruins a lot of good things in life.  All people with ulcerative colitis have one habit in common – whenever they go out to a restaurant or to a friend’s house, the first thing they find out is where the rest room is.  That’s because they never know when they will have an attack.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammation of the colon.  The problem with this chronic inflammation is that the constant diarrhea can lead to loss of electrolytes, weakness and fatigue, as well as many nutritional deficiencies. Recently in the journal, Cancer Research, scientists explained why patients with colitis have up to 30 times the risk of ending up with colon cancer.  There’s a clear link between colitis and cancer.

Worldwide, there are researchers working round the clock to find a cure for ulcerative colitis.  In one study performed at the Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy at the University of Seville in Spain, five researchers supplemented the diets of mice with Resveratrol at the level of 20 mg/kg and others received no supplement at all. The mice were then exposed to a chemical that causes colitis for five days.  After 21 days, the colitis developed to the point where there was a pretty severe chronic inflammation, one that could mimic the worst cases of that in humans.

What do you think happened?

The mice that received the Resveratrol had less problems with weight loss, diarrhea and rectal bleeding compared to those that did not.

And here’s the best part of all. Every one of the mice fed Resveratrol survived, compared  to only 60% of the mice that didn’t take the Resveratrol survived.

Just when you think that’s all there is to this study, you find out there’s more. Three weeks after the chemical caused the colitis, other positive changes occurred in the Resveratrol group.

There are many types of compounds in the body that cause inflammation or contribute to the cause of inflammation. Some of them are TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, cytokine IL-10, Prostaglandin E synthase, cyclooxygenase2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Every one of these inflammatory compounds was substantially decreased in the group of mice that consumed the Resveratrol in their diet. Hoorah for Resveratrol!

This research was reported in the European Journal of Pharmacology on Feb. 2, 2010. It’s pretty significant because the researchers concluded that the “Resveratrol diet” was a new and novel approach to the treatment of chronic intestinal inflammation.

They may be getting ideas about trying the Resveratrol with humans soon…I personally can’t wait for the day when we can wipe out Ulcerative Colitis. I’ve seen too many people suffer.

Filed under: resveratrol