Celebrities Strike Back Against Health Scams, New Book Separates Fact from Fiction

Resveratrol is a naturally-occurring plant substance, available as a dietary supplement, that has been scientifically shown to extend the lifespans of several non-human animals including fruit flies, nematode worms and fish. In mice, resveratrol has been shown by Professor David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School (and other researchers) to improve health and it also mimics some of the effects of calorie restriction in extending lifespan. Human subject volunteers are participating in 14 different clinical research trials studying the effects of resveratrol on a wide variety of diseases including Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Resveratrol has been praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz on the Oprah Winfrey show. And Dr. Sinclair has appeared on 60 Minutes, The Barbara Walters Special, the Charlie Rose Show and has been featured in numerous articles in major newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times and Business Week.

With all of this publicity, a number of companies selling resveratrol products began using Dr. Sinclair’s name and image, video of Dr. Oz from the Oprah Winfrey show and/or excerpts of Dr. Sinclair’s 60 Minutes interview, without permission, to imply endorsement of their products by these celebrities. Also, many of these sites were making unproven health claims. Legal actions have been taken by Ms. Winfrey, ABC, CBS and Dr. Sinclair to stop this unauthorized and misleading use of their names. However, until now, there has not been a similar effort to challenge the various health claims.

Celebrity Diagnosis has learned that Dr. Sinclair is launching a new web site with a mission of “separating fact from fiction” about resveratrol and its health effects and to act as a community clearinghouse for reliable and authoritative information on the health effects of dietary supplements. The site will be announced at the TedMed2009 conference on Wednesday, October 28 in San Diego. Speaking at this conference will be other celebrities such as Martha Stewart, Goldie Hawn and celebrity doctors Sanjay Gupta, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil and Dean Ornish.

Dr. Sinclair has also written an e-book entitled: The Resveratrol Fact Book: Your Questions Answered that can be downloaded for free ResForum.org. The book’s Table of Contents is below:

Foreword
Chapter 1: Why Resveratrol?
Chapter 2: Natural Sources of Resveratrol
Chapter 3: What Has Resveratrol Been Shown to Do?
Chapter 4: How does Resveratrol Work?
Chapter 5: How Safe is Resveratrol?
Chapter 6: How Much Resveratrol Could I Take?
Chapter 7: Will Resveratrol Extend My Lifespan or Make Me Healthier?
Chapter 8: How Do I know if Information I find On the Internet Is True?
Chapter 9: Resveratrol Is Being Tested For Its Effects on Different Diseases and

New Forms of Resveratrol Are Being Developed As Drugs
Chapter 10: How You Can Help To Advance Research
Glossary