Resveratrol improves bone formation of men with metabolic syndrome, study suggests

Drinking red wine can improve the bone formation of men with metabolic syndromen, a new study suggests.
This is because red wine, along with nuts and grapes, contains a natural compound called resveratrol. It is this compound that improves the spinal bone density of men with metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is essentially the same disorder as prediabetes, but diagnosed differently. It increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
The study, published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, tested 66 middle-aged men with metabolic syndrome. Over a 16-week period, each man was given a 500-miligram dose of resveratrol, a 75-miligram dose, or a twice-daily placebo of the compound.
Compared to the men given the placebo, the men given the 500-miligram dose had a 2.6 per cent improvement in their lumbar spine volumetric bone mineral density.
“Our study is the first to reveal resveratrol’s potential as an anti-osteoporosis drug in humans,” said one of the study’s authors, Marie Juul Ørnstrup, MD, of Aarhus University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark. “Our findings suggest the compound stimulates bone-forming cells within the body.”
Metabolic syndrome has been linked to the kind of low-grade inflammation that can cause bone loss. The study suggests that resveratrol counters this bone loss.
Ørnstrup described the results as “encouraging”, and added that, “Additional research is needed to assess whether these bone protective effects occur in populations at risk of osteoporosis during the course of long-term treatment.”