Reverse Fat Storage
This natural substance is used for estrogen control and testosterone production, but it has a fun side effect: waist circumference reduction.
Some nutritional supplements are difficult to market, but it's not because they don't work. It's because certain supplements have a wide variety of beneficial effects. So, which effect do you focus on? If you focus on all the benefits, you either confuse consumers or make them skeptical.
One such supplement is trans-resveratrol (Buy at Amazon). This polyphenol could be marketed as a testosterone booster, an excess estrogen blocker, a longevity promotor, an anti-aging agent, a prostate protector, or a cardiovascular health enhancer. Studies back all those claims.
In the fitness market, the focus is usually on resveratrol's testosterone-boosting and estrogen-controlling effects. As a natural aromatase inhibitor, resveratrol reduces the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. It also blocks man-made environmental estrogens (chemicals that mimic estrogen and disrupt natural hormone production).
So, instead of boring you with a 10,000-word article on all of resveratrol's benefits, let's narrow down and focus on one that doesn't get much attention: waist size reduction. Call it a nice "side effect" of resveratrol.
The Waist-Whittler
Researchers call it abdominal obesity, visceral fat, or centralized body fat. We just call it a bloated fat gut. It's not only ugly but also an inflammation reservoir and life-span shortener.
If we looked at dozens and dozens of resveratrol studies (and we did), we'd see a common theme: fat loss, but especially a reduction in waist circumference. Now, in our informal study of meta-studies, researchers used a wide variety of subjects and resveratrol dosages, but here's the common finding: subjects lost between half an inch to two inches from their waists.
Dosages typically ranged from 100 mg to over 1000 mg daily, with most falling around 500. The studies ranged in duration from 4 to 16 weeks.
How Does Resveratrol Do That?
Resveratrol reduces waist circumference by influencing several metabolic and cellular pathways that impact fat storage, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation:
- Resveratrol activates AMPK and Sirt1, which regulate cellular energy. AMPK activation increases fatty acid oxidation and reduces lipid synthesis. Sirt1 enhances mitochondrial activity and energy expenditure, reducing fat accumulation, particularly in abdominal fat.
- Resveratrol enhances insulin sensitivity by improving glucose uptake in muscle and fat cells. Better insulin sensitivity reduces the likelihood of excess glucose being stored as fat, which prevents further belly fat accumulation.
- Resveratrol suppresses inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway and reducing the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6. Chronic inflammation is linked to abdominal fat accumulation and metabolic disorders, so reducing inflammation decreases fat storage.
- Resveratrol inhibits the formation of new fat cells and stimulates the breakdown of fat. By downregulating genes involved in fat storage and upregulating those involved in fat breakdown, resveratrol reduces fat mass, especially in the abdomen.
- Some studies suggest that resveratrol positively influences gut microbiota, reducing endotoxins that trigger inflammation and fat storage.
What To Take
Not every study shows a reduction in waist size, but those studies typically use small dosages of standard resveratrol. Larger doses work better, especially if the resveratrol is formulated with a specialized delivery system to increase bioavailability (absorption).
Only take pure trans-resveratrol, the biologically active and stable form. Rez-V High Absorption Resveratrol (Buy at Amazon) contains 600 mg per serving (two softgels) of trans-resveratrol.
That's a higher dosage than most successful studies use. However, for people already suffering from metabolic diseases and obesity, a high dosage (900 mg or three softgels) may work even better.