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Resveratrol is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound found in various plants, including in the skins of grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, and peanuts. Its association with red wine has contributed to the illusion of the "French Paradox": the observation that French people have a relatively low incidence of heart disease despite a diet rich in saturated fats. If you were alive in the 2000s, you may remember cheering at the news that drinking red wine would protect your heart and help you live longer.

Unfortunately, this claim is not true. Matt, who describes resveratrol as the "most debunked longevity molecule in history", spent several formative years of his scientific career in the depths of the resveratrol saga. Together with colleagues, and in parallel with other independent labs, he demonstrated that the apparent miracle powers of resveratrol were likely an artifact of the experimental methods used to test resveratrol-induced sirtuin activation, and that resveratrol actually had no significant lifespan-extending effects in vivo. In this episode, Matt presents a comprehensive analysis of the existing resveratrol literature, transports us to his earlier years of figuring the story out piece by piece with colleagues such as National University of Singapore Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Physiology Brian Kennedy, and shares his views on how bad science can have a profound influence on scientific fields, funding allocations, and public behaviour.

0:00 Trailer
0:46 Introduction
4:37 The most convincing single study about resveratrol
11:05 Lifespan data for resveratrol vs rapamycin and other drugs
14:23 A rogue resveratrol advertisement
17:53 The year 2003: the resveratrol myth begins
30:56 The creation of a fluorescent assay to screen for small molecule sirtuin inhibitors/activators + resveratrol as an in vitro sirtuin activator
35:34 Resveratrol as an in vivo sirtuin activator and caloric restriction mimic
38:33 How Matt and Brian Kennedy started thinking about resveratrol
42:33 How the field arrived at the (inaccurate) model of SIR2 being related to caloric restriction
44:18 Disproving the model
45:30 Why Matt and Brian tested resveratrol + their efforts to get it to work
52:01 A final idea: testing the Fluor de Lys assay
54:48 An independent replication from a different lab
57:33 So how did the original paper find a nearly 100% lifespan increase?
1:00:54 Why do so many people still believe that resveratrol works to increase life- or healthspan?
1:01:49 How the resveratrol has affected the field and the general public

Producers: Tara Mei, Nicholas Arapis
Video Editor: Jacob Keliikoa

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https://www.optispan.life/

Hi, I'm Matt Kaeberlein. I spent the first few decades of my career doing scientific research into the biology of aging, trying to understand the finer details of how humans age in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. Now I want to take some of that knowledge out of the lab and into the hands of people who can really use it.

On this podcast I talk about all things aging and healthspan, from supplements and nutrition to the latest discoveries in longevity research. My goal is to lift the veil on the geroscience and longevity world and help you apply what we know to your own personal health trajectory. I care about quality science and will always be honest about what I don't know. I hope you'll find these episodes helpful!