Well, originally we found resveratrol just in a test tube, looking for molecules that would turn on this enzyme, this protein that seems to defend against diseases in aging.
I was criticized for saying that Pfizer doesn't know how to make a molecule right.
We used to think that aging was a lot like, as if we were cars made fresh and youthful and then we've entered this breakdown in diet. What we didn't realize until recently is that we're much more complex than a car. We fix ourselves if we're broken.
So what we're all hoping to do, us researchers, is to develop ways to not really just extend lifespan but to keep people healthier for longer. We may just have a greater impact than a single drug because these drugs could potentially treat one disease but prevent 20 others.
A lot of scientists are hesitant to get involved with industry. It's seen as, you know, getting in bed with the devil, actually. But I found that doing this has been really the only way and one of the best ways I know to take a finding from the bench side to people.
We once thought of cancer as an incurable disease; then we started treating it.
Doctors will prescribe medicines for a particular disease but, as a side effect, those medications will work to prevent dozens of others.
It's been known since 1916 that cutting back calories is beneficial in every organism it's been tested on - from yeast to worms to mice to monkeys. I think it would be a surprise if we are an exception to that rule.
If I'm not hungry and I'm busy, I am quite happy to skip a meal. It's informal intermittent fasting. I feel strongly that this is one of the strongest areas of longevity research.
We've always known that our bodies are capable of healing themselves under the right conditions: Diet and exercise improve our health. But there are also ancient genetic survival pathways in every living thing.
Resveratrol had a decent benefit when the mice were obese and sedentary. The mice that were fed a lean diet and resveratrol lived significantly longer than other treated mice as well as those that had no healthy diet and no resveratrol. So resveratrol is not an excuse to be lazy or eat whatever you want.
