Resveratrol - Hope, Hype, or Hidden Superpower? With Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto

 

Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto ist Forschungswissenschaftlerin bei Lallemand Health Ingredients und Expertin für bioaktive Verbindungen. Sie hält einen Doktortitel in Pharmazie sowie einen Ph.D. in Ernährung und hat Jahre lang bioaktive Komponenten wie Resveratrol studiert.

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (0:00 - 0:28)

Let's suppose that someone wants to take because of this mitochondria boosting for exercise. So I assume that the person will take this much younger than the person that would take for the bone health or the cognition. And what the research shows, especially for cognition, that the people that benefit the most with resveratrol are the 40 plus.

[Jason Raffington] (0:30 - 1:41)

Welcome to HealthWise, the health and longevity podcast brought to you by Sunday Natural. My name is Jason Raffington and in this podcast we explore what it truly means to be healthy. Together we'll dive into topics like medicine, exercise, nutrition and emotional well-being, always with a wise perspective on what genuinely benefits us.

Some molecules sound as if they are stolen straight out of a sci-fi lab and resveratrol is definitely one of them. A compound once celebrated as a rejuvenation pill and later dismissed as nothing more than an overrated red wine sight character. Today we're going to talk about resveratrol or do a deep dive on resveratrol and explore whether or not this compound can be beneficial for our health.

My guest today is Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto. She has a doctorate in pharmacy, a PhD in human nutrition and is a trained research scientist at Lallemand Health Ingredients, one of the world's leading companies in fermented-based health actives. She has spent years studying bioactive compounds such as resveratrol and understands both the biochemical subtleties and the industrial realities behind them.

Her focus on evidence, mechanisms and quality makes her one of the most compelling voices in this field. Welcome Marcia.

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (1:41 - 1:43)

Yeah, thank you very much.

[Jason Raffington] (1:43 - 1:54)

All right, it's great to have you here and we always start with a question related to Sunday. So my question for you is, when you imagine your perfect restorative Sunday, does resveratrol play a role in it?

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (1:54 - 2:12)

Yeah, I imagine my restorative Sunday as back to balance and definitely resveratrol can play a role. We can discuss later the different mechanisms, but it's much beyond an antioxidant compound and it's really bringing back the balance.[Jason Raffington] (2:12 - 2:28)

Okay, that's interesting. So some of our listeners probably heard about resveratrol and many may have not. So for those who have not, maybe you can explain what this compound is, where we find it in nature and what it does in our body when we ingest it.

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (2:29 - 3:57)

Yeah. So I will not start with the famous sentence that resveratrol is the magic molecule in the wine because most of the people explain resveratrol like this, but resveratrol is a natural compound found in plants. So let's say that's naturally present in plants such as berries, of course, the wine, the grapes.

It's present in very tiny quantities. So I think that's very, very important for you to get the needed amount for a benefit to need to eat a lot of grapes or drink a lot of wine. So I guess you would have other problems.

With that, and resveratrol was well known as an antioxidant for many, many years. But we know nowadays with the current science that resveratrol is beyond that. So there are many different mechanisms that resveratrol can help even with the sirtuins.

I think many people have heard and lately it's almost like a buzzword and the sirtuins, but they were initially related to the longevity. So these are genes, proteins that are activated and they have an effect with lots and lots of healthy aging, let's say, effects.

[Jason Raffington] (3:58 - 4:55)

Yeah. You mentioned some interesting points. So one of them is the red wine idea.

I think some people do relate resveratrol to wine and think, oh, the glass of wine is healthy for me. You kind of mentioned already where you would have to drink a lot of red wine to get the same benefit. So we can dispel that myth right from the start.

And I feel like resveratrol reappeared in different scientific contexts in the past. So the first one is this French paradox idea. So that resveratrol is found in grapes and maybe you can explain it better than me.

So I'm going to let you do it. And the second one is what you also alluded to this longevity idea, which was kind of popularized by Dr. David Sinclair out of Harvard. And he has done this longevity research, which also mentioned the sirtuin.

So maybe you can walk us through the history in a little more detail and how it developed and what we now or what we thought about resveratrol and what we now know is actually a fact.

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (4:55 - 7:20)

Yeah. The science has evolved a lot and it's just fantastic. And I think that's how it should be.

One thing that we need to think is that science should evolve. And resveratrol started really with this French paradox. So I know that French people, they got a little bit upset with that.

It's a fatty diet, smoking, and suddenly they drink wine and everything is solved. They have low cardiovascular disease. So that is a magic.

And that's why I started saying I'm not going to go into this magic molecule, because people start thinking, oh, there is this magic molecule. And that's the secret. And that's how resveratrol started.

It's a potent antioxidant. And there was a rush, you know, if all this, not only resveratrol, but many polyphenols that people start measuring the antioxidant capacity and comparing. And then it got to a point that someone said, OK, yeah, it's very potent antioxidant.

But what happens when we take into the body? And the study start being like, oh, let's measure what we call the absorption or the bioavailability. So how bioavailable it is to the body.

And the scientist said, it's very low bioavailability. So forget it. It doesn't work.

But nowadays, so the knowledge has evolved to a point where we know that, yes, it's not fully absorbed, but it's metabolized. So the body is metabolizing resveratrol to different compounds. And more recently, actually, we go back to the French paradox, one publication end of 2025, relating the French paradox actually not to the resveratrol per se, but the microbial metabolites.

And now we have a much broader knowledge on gut microbiota that became like a big rush from the science to study. And we know that the gut microbiota can metabolize resveratrol to other compounds. These compounds are absorbed and they have an effect.

 

So all that story. And of course, in between, we had the activation of sirtuins, especially the sirtuin-2. So there are seven.

 

And the sirtuin-2 that was related to longevity.

 

[Jason Raffington] (7:21 - 7:26)

You mentioned the, just let me intersect real quick. You mentioned the sirtuins are proteins, right?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (7:26 - 7:26)

Yes.

 

[Jason Raffington] (7:26 - 7:27)

For the listeners.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (7:27 - 8:30)

Yes, exactly. Yeah. So they are proteins that the work from David Sinclair, he was the first one screening different compounds.

 

And then suddenly resveratrol was this most potent sirtuin activator. But again, we go back to the metabolism and everything. So it's important that we consider that when we look at the science, first antioxidant was just in vitro.

 

So test tube tests. We go to the activation of these proteins, the sirtuins, test tube again. And then we need to translate this to humans.

 

And this is the step that sometimes the consumer can think like, oh, it doesn't work, you know, but no, that was building the foundation for the compound, the mechanisms to understand. But of course, we go to the clinical studies. That's when we get the evidence.

 

[Jason Raffington] (8:30 - 8:51)

So there was, yeah, it looked like it is a really promising compound in vitro. So in the test tubes, and it looked like it can have longevity, boosting effects, prolong life. It was also done in rodents, I think, at some point.

 

And then the translation to humans wasn't as expected. And then the hype reduced. Is this correct?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (8:51 - 9:31)

Yeah. So because it's much more complicated when it goes to a whole organism that needs to metabolize. And also, as I mentioned, the science evolved.

 

So the parameters that we're looking before, perhaps they were not the correct ones. And then it evolves. And then we have better tools.

 

So now looking, for example, to the microbial metabolites, 20 years ago, no, we are not looking into that. We didn't even have the analytical, the tools to measure them. Now we can identify, we can look at them, we can even correlate the effects to that.

 

So it's very different.

 

[Jason Raffington] (9:31 - 9:38)

Yeah. So can we say that resveratrol is good for longevity? Or is this now, is this also a myth that we can dispel right now?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (9:39 - 10:07)

So the thing is that I think we need to, and there is a big current discussion. So longevity or healthy aging, health span, there are so many wordings coming out. We need to define what it is.

 

So in which parameter are we talking about? So living longer, so the longevity or health span, having a much, so still living longer, but with healthier.

 

[Jason Raffington] (10:08 - 10:27)

Yeah. Okay. Maybe I rephrase the question.

 

Maybe we can just talk about what was actually now found, or what is the current state of research in terms of the health benefits that resveratrol brings? So what happens when we ingest it and which mechanisms have been proven in human trials, not just in test tubes? So what can we say?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (10:27 - 11:02)

We see, for example, cognition. It's one, there is no biomarker for healthy aging or for longevity, but we see that cognition relates because this is one parameter that really declines as we age. And resveratrol has been shown in several clinical studies to improve cognition, meaning what I'm talking about cognition, so memory, speed, so the processing speed and all these parameters.

 

[Jason Raffington] (11:02 - 11:08)

I'm aware of this one study, the RESHOT trial. It was done in postmenopausal women.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (11:08 - 11:09)

Yes.

 

[Jason Raffington] (11:09 - 11:54)

And they also found improvements in cognition. They found improvements in bone mineral density, I think, because osteoporosis is an issue in menopause. This sounded very promising.

 

And one thing that I think needs to be addressed when we talk about supplements in general is that the benefits that are found in studies cannot always be generalized to everyone. Because now, if I would say, yeah, resveratrol helps with bone mineral density or cognition, but I leave out that the study was done in postmenopausal women, we would say, oh, this is great for everyone. But often, we need to look more precisely at the study population.

 

Who was the study done in? How long was the study done for? If it's only for two weeks, or if it was done for three months, probably different.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (11:55 - 13:42)

Exactly, exactly. And there are some parameters, like you mentioned bone mineral density. This is a long term effect.

 

It cannot get into three months and then you already have a change. No, this is not possible. So I think you mentioned very key points on the quality of the study as well, because nowadays you see everybody is like, oh, it's a clinical study.

 

No, there are clinical studies and clinical studies, the quality of the study, we need to learn how to look into that. And I say that sometimes you say, there are 50 people in the clinical study, so it's good. Yeah, there is no magic number for the clinical study.

 

We need to look at the question that was asked for the clinical study, how it was addressed, how it was analysed. And I mean, the statistical analysis that we know that what and the number is just based on the question that you asked mostly than the magic number for the study. And there are long term effects.

 

And another thing, very important, I think I go back to the gut microbiota that you mentioned, not everybody will benefit. Why? If I think about a compound that's going to be metabolized by the gut microbiota, and we know that each person has a different composition of the gut microbiota, so it means that not everybody will metabolize the same way.

 

And this is a current knowledge as well. There are lots and lots of studies ongoing on this, what we call the responders and non responders.

 

[Jason Raffington] (13:43 - 14:03)

Do we know which composition of the gut microbiome is beneficial? Like makes resveratrol be metabolized in a way that's beneficial for us? Are there certain strains of bacteria that are helpful?

 

Or are there any other parameters that we can look at? Or is this still being investigated?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (14:03 - 14:41)

It's still being investigated. Actually, we are investigating that. Yeah, no, it's a very important topic.

 

And even we expand a little bit further, men and women, they also metabolize differently. And I think that was a few years back, nobody would look so much into that. But now, especially for women, and women's health, that's another big topic.

 

It's increasing. So this investigation of the difference in the metabolism and the microbiota.

 

[Jason Raffington] (14:41 - 14:59)

Yeah, I think it's generally like a shortcoming in scientific research that the focus is more on men and women are often neglected, but the bodies are different. So there should be, they should be at least included, and it should be a mix, or it should also be done in women separately. So yeah, you're looking at Yeah, yeah, it's increasing.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (14:59 - 15:01)

Now, the number of studies

 

[Jason Raffington] (15:01 - 15:29)

in terms of the microbiome, I could imagine that individuals who consume, for instance, a high fiber diet probably benefit more from resveratrol because they have a microbiome that is kind of used to consuming polyphenols or metabolizing them compared to somebody who maybe is following a carnivore diet, who maybe does not have the enzymes or the microbes to to metabolize the resveratrol. But that's just an idea that I don't know if that makes sense to you.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (15:29 - 16:16)

Most of the polyphenols, they have been considered like a prebiotic, even. There are a few studies showing that because they can modulate also the composition, not only be metabolized by the microbiota, but also modulate, positively modulate, or not. So if you already have a healthy gut microbiota composition, it's the resveratrol or other polyphenols will be metabolized but not change the composition, which is good, good news.

 

And we have done some research on that as well, to show that if you have a healthy gut microbiota, so it doesn't change. So you don't need to be good.

 

[Jason Raffington] (16:17 - 16:51)

In terms of bioavailability, what else can we do to improve it? Because like you said, it's a common criticism that it's not metabolized or that we don't absorb it properly or that the bioavailability is low. There are certain ways to make the product or make resveratrol, the formulations to improve bioavailability.

 

And now you at Lalmond, you do research on that, and you have specific formulations. And maybe you can talk us through the differences, what kinds of resveratrol are out there, and how can we improve the bioavailability?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (16:53 - 19:33)

So the different resveratrols, I will start from that. So as you can imagine, there is a plant extract, polygono, that's one common. There is synthetic, so chemical synthesis, and the fermentation.

 

So that's what Lalmond does with precision fermentation. Molecule-wise, there is no difference. It's resveratrol.

 

And here, I think it's important to say that we're talking about, people read also out there, trans-resveratrol and cis-resveratrol. So the active one is trans-resveratrol. And that's why you see so much in the sources is more than 98% trans-resveratrol.

 

But of course, here for the talk, to make it easy, we're not going to complicate too much. We talk about resveratrol. Right.

 

So because of these reports on the polyphenols and low bioavailability, there was a rush to improve. We need to improve the bioavailability. So we need to make sure that people absorb as much as possible.

 

Yeah. Me, with a doctorate in pharmacy, I have a little bit of a concern every time, because as I explained, so resveratrol in nature is in very tiny quantities. That is a reason for that.

 

But there are liposomal, micelle, there are different ways that other companies, they improve the absorption of resveratrol as such. What we know today, and I go back and it becomes my like my favorite topic, the gut microbiota, is that it doesn't matter too much that there is low absorption of resveratrol because it's going to be metabolized. And these metabolites, they are also active.

 

So at the end, actually, the missing link to explain why does resveratrol work despite of low bioavailability, and some researchers, they call this the resveratrol paradox. There are some talking about that because how is that possible? I don't absorb and still you see the effects on the clinical studies, most likely is because of this pool of the resveratrol plus the metabolites.

 

So it's not just resveratrol, but also the metabolites.

 

[Jason Raffington] (19:33 - 19:45)

So the idea that more is always better is not correct. So we don't need more absorption, we don't need more or better bioavailability, because in this case, the microbiota actually do the work.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (19:45 - 20:19)

Yeah, exactly. But there are some out there, not only formulations like liposomal, micelles, but also, for example, if you take resveratrol with oil, it absorbs more. Yes, because resveratrol is a very poor water soluble.

 

So if you have oil, you absorb more. Or people say that in wine, you're going to absorb more because of the alcohol. But we discussed before, you're going to have other problems because of the alcohol.

 

[Jason Raffington] (20:19 - 20:22)

Yeah, you will probably need to drink a lot of wine.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (20:22 - 20:33)

I think someone calculated before to get 150 milligrams of resveratrol, for example, you need like 16 bottles of wine.

 

[Jason Raffington] (20:34 - 21:07)

That's not healthy. I want to go back to what it does, like how it's beneficial for us. So you mentioned it's an antioxidant.

 

So does it function like, for instance, vitamin C, so it scavenges free radicals? Or does it work through a different mechanism? Because I also read that it activates certain pathways, the NRF2 pathway, where our own antioxidant production increases.

 

Is that correct? Or how can I think about resveratrol as an antioxidant?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (21:08 - 22:15)

Yeah. As an antioxidant, there are the scavenging, so the free radicals. There is an anti-inflammatory as well process.

 

And we saw that in a few of the studies. But not only that. And that's the complication with resveratrol, because there are many different other ways.

 

It's also a very potent vasoactivator. And that's the link to the cognition. How does it improve the cognition?

 

It because improves the cerebral blood flow. So this is one way also. There is the anti-inflammatory and there is the sirtuin.

 

So this is what we call the SIRT2. But also there is another protein, AMPK. So this regulates the metabolism.

 

So it's not one. And this is something that we also need to understand. It's not pinpoint and put in boxes the mechanisms.

 

They are all happening at the same time.

 

[Jason Raffington] (22:15 - 22:23)

And this is why it's just so, like, it's so complicated. Like, there's not one magic bullet and it improves longevity, but it's actually working through many different mechanisms.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (22:24 - 23:12)

But even going back and talking about the sirtuins, before it was like, oh, the longevity gene, it's related to longevity. Nowadays, we know that the sirtuins are related to many different processes. So activating, actually, sirtuins can have an effect for bone, for cognition.

 

So that's how you cannot explain resveratrol if you just look at one mechanism. And that's why I believe that people get confused if you are just on the antioxidant, because it's not possible. If it's just antioxidant, how it's doing cognition and the bone and postmenopausal women, skin, beauty from within, how is that even possible?

 

So you need to have the different mechanisms.

 

[Jason Raffington] (23:12 - 23:19)

Yeah, if it affects the vascular system, I can also imagine that it affects, well, the heart, heart health, not just brain health.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (23:20 - 23:39)

But also microcirculation for the skin as well. And that's how it has an effect for the skin topically. We just published one study on that, on the skin benefits, so topically and beauty from within.

 

[Jason Raffington] (23:40 - 23:55)

Okay, that's interesting. I'm sure many listeners will also find that interesting. So maybe you can give us more information on that.

 

So how much or how long do we have to take resveratrol to see benefits, let's say for skin health, just as an example?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (23:56 - 25:03)

Yeah. So and we decided to do this study, I should say, because first for topical application, so for a cream, there was that understanding resveratrol is antioxidant. Yeah, it works.

 

But for beauty from within, there was no study out there to show. And no, it doesn't work. Oh, no, it doesn't work.

 

So we decided to do the study. And we saw effect on the fine lines, skin pigmentation, sebum production. And women were 40 plus in the study and 150 milligrams per day for two months.

 

Okay. Yeah, it doesn't take too long. It doesn't take too long to see or read an effect on the and beauty from within.

 

So it means that really, it works. So we can go back to the question, but if it's low bioavailability, how is that possible? And you see, so and that's the beauty of the skin health study.

 

Because when you look at the fine lines, you can really see the effect.

 

[Jason Raffington] (25:03 - 25:44)

Yeah. Okay, that's great. Sounds like it's a great addition to like a skincare regimen, like also from within in terms of, for instance, collagen can be combined with collagen with vitamin C and other compounds that support skin health.

 

So that's interesting. I never thought about resveratrol as a skin nutrient, let's say. Speaking about other supplements, is there anything that resveratrol combines well with like other things that go well with it either to well, I was going to say improve absorption, but we just established that we don't actually need that, but maybe still to improve the function or the benefits, maybe something that we can combine it with.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (25:45 - 25:48)

There are several studies with resveratrol and quercetin.

 

[Jason Raffington] (25:49 - 25:49)

Okay.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (25:49 - 26:47)

So quercetin is another polyphenol. And there are many studies showing benefits for even a synergistic effect. There is one trend that I saw in lots and lots of places.

 

So resveratrol plus NAD plus. Resveratrol can boost. So the NAD plus, so it's really about mitochondria.

 

Now you're talking about the powerhouse cell and to really boost the energy and everything. So, and there is this combination that seems that it works as well. So, but yeah, I've think of this too, but as you mentioned for skin with collagen, yeah, it's common as well to see combined.

 

Actually you see combined resveratrol with many other compounds, but from the science, I think quercetin, NAD plus, yeah, they are.

 

[Jason Raffington] (26:48 - 27:09)

I mean, considering that it has so many different mechanisms, I can imagine that it combines well with all kinds of products because if we use resveratrol to improve our heart health, we can combine it with products that support our heart, or our skin, or our energy metabolism and so on. So I guess it's like, it's a very practical tool.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (27:09 - 27:31)

Yeah. And I should say that, or I could turn and say, is there any other compound that you should not combine with resveratrol? I haven't found any, as you mentioned, it's combined with so many different polyphenolics or other compounds that no, I haven't found anything that should not combine.

 

Okay. Yeah.

 

[Jason Raffington] (27:31 - 27:49)

Is there anyone who shouldn't take resveratrol for other reasons? Often there's little research done on pregnant women, for instance, or on children, maybe people on medication. So is there anyone who needs to be careful?

 

For instance, maybe people on blood thinners or whatever, I don't know.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (27:50 - 28:46)

There is always a warning, especially if you're talking about Europe, for pregnant women or anyone taking medication that they should consult the doctor before. And the reason, main, for the polyphenols is because they can interact with the enzymes that metabolize drugs. For resveratrol, it has not been shown to be that, but this is a general warning, a general recommendation for people that are taking medication.

 

Because it can either interact in a way that inhibits, so it means that the drug will not be metabolized, or deactivates and can cause anything. So I think any, if the person is taking medication, it's better to consult the doctor.

 

[Jason Raffington] (28:46 - 28:50)

Yeah, I think that's generally a good idea when taking supplements and medications in combination.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (28:50 - 28:50)

Exactly.

 

[Jason Raffington] (28:51 - 29:07)

In terms of the intake, does it matter what time of day or, because also you mentioned it's fat soluble, so I guess with food makes more sense, but does the time of day matter? That's a question that we often get when it comes to supplements. When do I take it?

 

How do I take it? And how do I tolerate it best?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (29:09 - 29:53)

So there are some people that say, oh, I prefer to take in the morning or in the evening. The research that we have done, so it shows that actually most of the better effect is twice a day. Okay.

 

And that's why most of the studies are like two times in the morning and evening. And the reason is, I go back to the metabolism, is that we want to keep a plateau of circulating metabolites. So if you take in the morning, it's going to be metabolized, and then you're taking the evening, so you make sure that you have this circulating metabolites as a plateau.

 

It's a constant.

 

[Jason Raffington] (29:53 - 30:00)

Yeah, so you have a steady supply. It's similar with vitamin C, so you take it best throughout the day, so you always have a good level of vitamin C in the body.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (30:00 - 30:00)

Exactly.

 

[Jason Raffington] (30:01 - 30:30)

Okay. And yeah, like we said, with food. And are there, what are the dosages that you would generally recommend?

 

Is there like a dose that we can take for prevention, and then there's something else for like therapeutic purposes? For instance, when we are postmenopausal and we already have problems with our bones, or when we have cognitive impairment, I guess the therapeutic doses are probably a little different than preventative doses.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (30:31 - 31:55)

So for supplements, for supplements, we see up to 500 milligrams per day. It's considered safe. No, let's say no side effects or severe side effects.

 

The research shows from 150 milligrams to 500. So that's the optimal dosage for resveratrol. Above that, and of course, it depends on the country, the regulations, up to one gram.

 

Also, according to other studies, it's safe. After one gram, it becomes therapeutical in the sense that it becomes a drug. Resveratrol also is studied not only for supplementation, but also as a therapeutical drug.

 

And then you find lots and lots of studies between one gram and five grams in the pharma side, let's say. That's a different story for us. But up to one gram, there are no reported severe side effects.

 

[Jason Raffington] (31:55 - 32:06)

Okay. And anything above that should be taken in consultation with a doctor. So they tell you, okay, you can take more than one gram, you can take up to whatever, depending on the condition that you have.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (32:06 - 32:34)

Yeah. And then I think after one gram, it becomes really disease. So and then we need to distinguish.

 

So for the supplementation, usually, even if it's bone health, cognition is still on the can be on the preventive side, but it's not treatment. After one gram, this is treatment. And that needs to be taken by a medical doctor.

 

[Jason Raffington] (32:34 - 33:14)

Right. So based on the studies that you've done, or that you've read, who would you recommend it to? Like, should everybody take it because it's so great?

 

Or is there no need that everyone takes it? Because there are some nutrients or some supplements that I think everybody can benefit from, like vitamin D3, K2, especially this season, like in winter, everybody needs it. Magnesium deficiency is really widespread, selenium, iodine.

 

So there are certain compounds that pretty much everyone can benefit from. Would you also say that resveratrol is one of them? Or is it not as important as others were?

 

Should not everybody take it?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (33:14 - 33:59)

I think it depends for what. Let's suppose that someone wants to take because of this mitochondria boosting for exercise. So I assume that the person will take this much younger than the person to take for the bone health or the cognition.

 

And what the research shows, especially for cognition, that the people that benefit the most with resveratrol are the 40 plus or 50 plus. So because they're younger, and this is what we need, I think, to distinguish what do you really need, you know, for the cognition at 20 or 30 plus. I think it's at the peak.

 

[Jason Raffington] (34:00 - 34:02)

It could be better though.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (34:03 - 34:41)

Yeah, but we cannot get healthier. If you're already healthy, you cannot get healthier. But really, for some benefits, the 40 plus, 50 plus benefit most for that.

 

But also because there is a need for that. But for sports, for, I don't know, even for skiing, I know that people start early, maybe it's a preventive. So I think there is no magic solution.

 

You need to really think why do I need to take and then go for it.

 

[Jason Raffington] (34:41 - 35:05)

Yeah, I think that's an important point. And that is often missed when we talk about nutritional supplements. People always or often have this idea that if I take this product, then something magical happens and all problems are gone.

 

We often forget how complex the human body is. And that that's like an interaction of multiple different nutrients, compounds, lifestyle factors that actually lead to the health that we that we seek.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (35:07 - 35:07)

Yeah.

 

[Jason Raffington] (35:07 - 35:28)

Now, is there anything that you're currently excited about in the field of resveratrol? So you said you recently did the study on skin health. Is there anything else that is soon to be published that you're working on right now, or that you read and that you think, oh, this might be a new avenue that we haven't explored yet?

 

And that is really interesting.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (35:29 - 37:26)

I think so the skin health study just got published. It's very exciting because it took some time until we got to that. End of last year, we published one in oral health.

 

So anti-inflammatory and all this very important. We keep publishing studies. I think it's very important for us.

 

And what makes me excited, it's this, I think, the evolution of the science, you know, coming from this antioxidant. It's like I studied a lot of antioxidant compounds 20, 20 something years ago. But now to see how the science is evolving so much.

 

And it's not to say that everything that was done before was wrong. And I don't like this. I think that's part of the process.

 

And we need to take at that time, it was an antioxidant, came low bioavailability. Let's do this. And now we get to this understanding of the gut microbiota, the metabolites that we can link.

 

We start to understand that's not just one mechanism. There are many different mechanisms happening at the same time. For me, this is exciting because that's how science should go.

 

And translating this that people can understand. That's another point that sometimes science can be too complicated and should not be. It should be accessible, especially nowadays with this overload of information that we get.

 

It should be digestible and ready for people. So, I think we are in an exciting time for the resveratrol, but also other polyphenols is the same, the understanding.

 

[Jason Raffington] (37:27 - 37:48)

Yeah, I really appreciate that you're highlighting how the scientific process works. And that just because something, well, just because we now know that something in the past wasn't correct, we don't say, oh, this was bad and this was terrible, but this is how it works. We're building on the previous knowledge and we are improving because of it.

 

And this is just how it goes. We need to stay curious and ask more questions.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (37:49 - 37:49)

Exactly.

 

[Jason Raffington] (37:49 - 37:50)

And see where it takes us.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (37:51 - 38:13)

And probably in 10 years, you know, because the speed of information, the speed of knowledge that's coming, it's so much faster than it was 20 years ago, I can tell you. And in 10 years, we'll be talking like, oh, remember when we discussed about the microbial metabolites? Now, that's the new thing, you know, and that's fine.

 

That should be like that.

 

[Jason Raffington] (38:14 - 38:29)

Yeah, definitely. So, you mentioned you're excited about resveratrol, obviously, but also other compounds. Are there any specific ones that you're also like researching?

 

Or are you just like reading the literature and you're just on top of different compounds?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (38:29 - 38:54)

I read a lot about polyphenols in general, because I've been studying for a long time polyphenols. And I think it applies a lot to different compounds. So, it's going to be the same for the quercetin or other polyphenols.

 

Yes, we are studying some different ones. Maybe next time I can tell you more.

 

[Jason Raffington] (38:56 - 39:22)

One last question. So, do you focus on specific health topics? Like from what I gather now, you have a really wide field of interest.

 

So, you're looking at skin health, you're looking at antioxidants, you're aware of the cognitive benefits. So, you're looking at all the different mechanisms? Or is there like one specific niche that you're most interested in, for instance, longevity, for instance, beauty, for instance, heart or brain health?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (39:24 - 39:43)

For resveratrol or in general for resveratrol? So, for resveratrol, we are focusing more on the healthy aging part, women's health, of course, because of the study and the skin health. That actually, at the end, you could put almost all of them together under the healthy aging.

 

[Jason Raffington] (39:43 - 39:46)

Yeah, I was just thinking that it all kind of works together.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (39:46 - 39:56)

They kind of work together, yes, because it's skin health. It's really one of the first signs, you know, of the aging.

 

[Jason Raffington] (39:56 - 39:58)

Yeah, it's a reflection of our inner health.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (39:58 - 40:14)

Exactly, exactly. So, but these are the main focus for the resveratrol. We do have beyond the resveratrol different focus areas, but with other molecules and other products.

 

[Jason Raffington] (40:14 - 40:20)

Is there anything else you would like to share with the listeners that you think they should know when it comes to resveratrol?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (40:24 - 40:25)

There are two things.

 

[Jason Raffington] (40:26 - 40:26)

There is a lot.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (40:26 - 42:06)

I'm going to choose two. I think for the resveratrol, I would highlight also the quality of the material, because I remember that it's present in nature, but in very tiny quantities. So, if you take a plant extract, you have to get a lot to manage to get one kilo of the plant.

 

There are many chemical synthesis. I think people are very aware of the synthetic. And most of the people are avoiding the synthetics.

 

So, we have the precision fermentation, which tends to bring a more sustainable alternative. So, the quality of the product, I think it's very, very important that the people look into that. And the second is the science, the quality of the studies.

 

This is something that I always say how critical it is. It's not about the number of the studies. You have 50 studies, OK?

 

But what is the quality? Is this really bringing something that people can relate? So, I come to maybe my third point, the translation of the science, you know, how relevant it is to people.

 

You know, we do the skin health study, but how relevant? Oh, it is because nowadays people are looking into the beauty from within. Now, they can say, yes, resveratrol really works.

 

So, I think that's...

 

[Jason Raffington] (42:07 - 42:08)

Yeah, I think...

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (42:08 - 42:09)

I could continue.

 

[Jason Raffington] (42:09 - 42:47)

I think those are important points. And especially the quality aspect, you mentioned the molecule itself, it doesn't change. So, either like when you do it like synthetically, when you get it through fermentation or from plant compounds.

 

And what you're saying is important because when you have this plant and you have to use a lot of the plant to get like significant amounts of resveratrol, then you also probably extract lots of, well, let's say, for instance, heavy metals, for instance, that you might get heavy metals from certain plants. And you don't want those, you want the resveratrol. But inevitably, you will extract those as well.

 

Yes.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (42:48 - 43:08)

No, no, that's true. And this is... And it's part of the process, you know, it's really difficult to eliminate.

 

And if you consider the soil, how it's contaminated, unfortunately, that's the reality. So, you have lots of co-contaminants that are extracted. Yeah.

 

[Jason Raffington] (43:08 - 43:40)

So, for individuals who are looking for a good resveratrol, they should either, like you said, in your opinion, best formulation is the fermentation that you guys offer, which we also offer in the shop, like we are using your product. And if they don't, of course, they're free to choose whichever, then they should at least look at a product that is lab tested, for instance, for other, for heavy metals, for extra, like, what is it called? Like the extraction solvents.

 

Yeah, the solvents. Exactly.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (43:40 - 43:41)

Yeah, exactly.

 

[Jason Raffington] (43:41 - 43:49)

So, yeah, we just need to be aware that there can be contamination and that the product that is supposed to support our health is not actually harming us.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (43:50 - 43:50)

Yes, exactly.

 

[Jason Raffington] (43:51 - 44:13)

And the point about the science also, crucially important and often neglected. I wonder, can our listeners or where can our listeners find your research? Does LALMOND publish the studies on their website?

 

So, is there some way we can or the listeners can look at the studies?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (44:13 - 44:48)

Yeah, so they are published. And this is something published in what we call the peer-reviewed journals. So, it means that there are people reviewing the information that's very critical.

 

Freely access on PubMed. PubMed is a database and they can access there. But they can also contact us in the website and we are happy to share the information.

 

Yeah, I think we have the resveratrol. We have a website. And yeah.

 

[Jason Raffington] (44:48 - 45:08)

Cool. Okay, we'll definitely put the link to the website in the show notes. And if anybody's interested or wants to contact you guys, then they can do so.

 

All right. Well, thank you so much for the insights. It's been very interesting.

 

And I'm sure our listeners learned a lot. I did. And yeah, thank you again.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (45:09 - 45:09)

Thank you.

 

[Jason Raffington] (45:14 - 45:16)

Besides resveratrol, do you have a favorite supplement?

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (45:17 - 45:19)

I cannot say resveratrol.

 

[Jason Raffington] (45:20 - 45:22)

It would be too easy.

 

[Dr. Marcia da Silva Pinto] (45:24 - 46:15)

That's cheeky. No, no. Besides, of course, I take resveratrol.

 

But I have few favorites. I think you mentioned the vitamin D. It's one, especially this time of the year, you see the difference, you know, at least for me for the immunity.

 

I also have one that's very specific, but beta-glucans, yeast beta-glucans for seasonal allergy. For some reason, since I moved to Europe, I start having like really seasonal allergies and a few years really bad. And it seems that the yeast beta-glucans, they work very well, at least trying the immune system.

 

Yeah.