I thought I would report on my recent meandering into recent work on the putative anti-aging compounds Resveratrol and Pterostilbene, which are found in some fruits, nuts, and vegetables. (I reported my experience with resveratrol in a 2008 MindBlog post.) The meandering started with a glance at Weintraub's piece on health benefits of red wine versus grape juice. She quoted M.I.T. anti-aging researcher Leonard Guarente, who started the company Elysium, which sells Pterostilbene, a resveratrol cousin that is more easily absorbed after oral ingestion:
Poulose et al. have recently reviewed articles on the effects of pterostilbene and resveratrol on brain health and chemistry (motivated readers can obtain a PDF from me, see also the article by Mitteldorf and the website examine.com).
Even after the neutral to negative experience with resveratrol that I reported in the MindBlog post mentioned above, I've just ordered a bit of pterostilbene to see if I experience some of the cognitive effects claimed. I'll report on the experience.
