Please post your pterostilbene results :)

[piratejenny]

I just got my bottle today!
I noticed at least 5 or 6 other people posted that they had ordered it (or were going to) after Sunday mentioned her good results, so I thought I'd start a thread where we can discuss if/how it is helping us.

I was a little nervous when I noticed the label said that diabetics should talk to their doctor before taking it; I didn't notice that before ordering.
But I read a bit about it and it seems it works similarly to metformin, which I already take. I am in fact supposed to be taking a higher dose, but it upsets my stomach. So I am going to take the pterostilbene with breakfast and/or lunch*, and continue to take my metformin with dinner. Won't take both at the same time, in other words.

*I had to search around quite a bit, but it seems to be okay to take with food. Might be okay to take on an empty stomach, too (would be good to know for DDs). Labels on various products did not mention having to take it with food or on empty stomach.

Pterostilbene is a stilbenoid chemically related to resveratrol and is found in blueberries and grapes. It belongs to the group of phytoalexins, agents produced by plants to fight infections. Based on animal studies it is thought to exhibit anti-cancer, anti-hypercholesterolemia, anti-hypertriglyceridemia properties, as well as fight off and reverse cognitive decline. It is believed that the compound also has anti-diabetic properties, but so far very little has been studied on this issue.

Pterostilbene is a double-methylated version of resveratrol exhibiting a higher bioavailability as it is more easily transported into the cell and more resistant to degradation and elimination.

[Yam-Yam]

I'm anxious to read about results as well. I looked it up after reading Sunday's recommendation. I had never heard of it before. But I didn't order any. Maybe that would be something to add in September for me. I will wait and see what everyone here says. Thanks, P.J.!

[piratejenny]

From cwiechert.blogspot:

In 2009, Life Extension foundation did a story on this compound and they recommended adding it to Resveratrol formulations and use in microgram amounts. (article at lef.org)

Since then, we know much more. It is being tested and used in amounts between 100 to 150 mgs daily, spread between 2 or 3 meals.


Here are its major benefits:
Cholesterol lowering with HDL and LDL balancing.
Diabetes
Aging
Cognitive decline
Cancer prevention

I'm taking the sentence in bold to mean that it can be taken with meals (50mg 2 or 3 times a day).

[KeirasMom]

I started taking it Monday. I got the Jarrow brand, 50 mg, and honestly haven't noticed a difference one way or the other. My blood pressure has gone up this week, but I'm also under a fair amount of stress, so I can't say that's related. I've also been drinking Chlorophyll for the last week and a half, if that makes any difference, since I started them fairly close together.

One good thing: I haven't had headaches from it, which I get with the brand of Resveratrol I tried.

[C'Marie]

What other benefits does it have? Anti-inflammatory? Pain? still looking for that holy grail of pain stoppage. Ugh. Every step being painful wears on me.

[KeirasMom]

Originally Posted by Yam-Yam

I'm anxious to read about results as well. I looked it up after reading Sunday's recommendation. I had never heard of it before. But I didn't order any. Maybe that would be something to add in September for me. I will wait and see what everyone here says. Thanks, P.J.!

They have a few different brands at a certain vitamin shop(pe) so you can browse if you want before you decide which kind to try. Several of them are combined with resveratrol. I avoided those, and got the straight pterostilbene, even though it's a derivative of resveratrol.

[sungoddess]

Mine hasn't come yet. I am hoping to get the same decrease in hunger that Sunday got.

[Kissa]

Still waiting for mine.

But my DE arrived, yay!

[Carly]

I'm still waiting too.

On another note... My pain is a magnitude that I hope most of you don't have to live with, but I have been on the Fentynal patch for 5 years. It has enabled me to continue working and living a fairly decent quality of life. You wear the same patch for 3 days so I don't have to think about it often. JUDDD has helped so much that I plan to ask my doc later this month if I can step down to a lower dose. I'd love to hear if anyone tries the turmeric or ginger recommended in another thread.

[piratejenny]

This could just be a fluke/coincidence, but I got shaky-hungry today about 3 hours after taking the psb (pterostilbene).
I can usually go 4-5 hours between meals before I get hungry, and I rarely get shaky these days, even if it's been 12-18 hours since I've eaten.

My bg was 80, which is "normal" for most people but low for me.
That would usually be a GOOD thing...I've seen it that low before and NOT felt shaky-hungry.
Another time I've felt like this is when I took a good bit of cinnamon on an empty stomach, to test its famed "insulin memetic" properties. My bg didn't go dangerously low, but I didn't feel good.

I don't mean to discourage anyone from trying it.
I could have just been having a "hungry" day; I wanted breakfast today, which is rather rare.
And if you're not diabetic, it might not bother you.
But if you are diabetic and haven't ordered it yet, you might want to look into it a bit more.
As I said earlier, I didn't notice the warning on the label before I ordered it.

I'll keep posting any observations!

(PS: Or I might try taking it before bed.)

[sunday]

Jenny,
I hate to hear this! I would have warned you, but I truly did not see that on the supplement advice. I take mine first thing in the morning after I am up.

The biggest difference for me, is that I was able to quit taking Resveratrol and now use this for my fasting "support". I can honestly say, that I don't hunger on DD and UD now. It is sort of a miracle in that sense.

Since I need to eat on UD or risk not getting all of my calories in, I am going to stop taking it on UD.

The only supplements that I take daily are Vitamin D3, Carlson's Fish Oil, Pterostilbene, and CO. I have a few that I will add when I feel like my body is requiring it, but these are my tried and true adds.

[sunday]

I will do some research about blood sugar and pterostilbene, but I think in the study that was done by the University of Mississippi, one of the things that they found was that it mimics fasting. So if fasting normally lowers your blood sugar this would make sense.

[piratejenny]

Yes, everything I've read said it's "good" for bg.
I just haven't found any testimonials (other than yours) saying that it controls appetite;
or whether it *specifically* controls appetite for diabetics.

I'll just have to experiment!

PS--fasting doesn't always lower a diabetic's bg, or at least not evenly.
BG gets low, liver dumps (too much) glucose, which makes BG go high.
That's why fasting BG in the morning is an important test.

I would wake up with high BG, skip breakfast, go do errands, come home expecting my BG to have gone down and it would have gone UP!
I think I've gotten more accustomed to fasting but throwing in something that lowers BG rapidly could be a bit of a shock.

There are so many hormones that affect hunger & keep BG balanced!
mykidsteacher has mentioned recently that she was told fasting (skipping breakfast) makes the adrenal glands release additional cortisol...which is associated with "belly fat".

[sunday]

Yes, the deal is that this is very new thus very few "real life" reviews or testimonies, much of all that I could find was scientific research. I had stumbled upon pterostilbene a while back when researching supplements for my "eye health". Their was a new poster from London who posted a while back that claimed that the pharmaceutical company (and I can't remember the name of which one) is patenting some new drug with pterostilbene in it that will help athletes get the benefit of fasting without actually having to fast. Or something similar.

The thing that I found fascinating in reading up on pterostilbene is that it gets the SIRT-1 activated in a similar method as resveratrol and it is 1/2 the price or even less. How long this will last... who knows?

I found this on the Life Extension website which I will not link due to it has vitamins for sale.

The “Other” Resveratrol
A Novel Method to Simulate the Genetic Effects of Caloric Restriction
By Tiesha D. Johnson, RN, BSN

Scientists have discovered a plant extract related to resveratrol that mimics many of the beneficial effects of caloric restriction. This natural compound favorably regulates genes involved in the development of cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and the system-wide inflammation that underlies a variety of age-related disorders.

Pterostilbene (terro-STILL-bean), found in blueberries, grapes, and in the bark of the Indian Kino Tree, has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine. Pterostilbene and resveratrol are both stilbene compounds, closely related structurally, which gives them similar but not identical functions. Researchers have found that these two compounds work in a synergistic fashion to activate one’s “longevity genes.”

Pterostilbene produces its beneficial effects on gene expression in ways that enhance those produced by resveratrol. That is why pterostilbene functions particularly well when combined with resveratrol.

This article first examines the unique ways in which pterostilbene simulates conditions produced by caloric restriction. Then it will describe how these effects translate into a broader spectrum of benefits than otherwise provided by resveratrol alone.

Pterostilbene and Gene Expression: The Key to Longer Life

You’re probably used to thinking of genes as fixed units of hereditary information that determine physical characteristics like hair and eye color.

Scientists now know that you can change the messages your genes transmit to your body. This process is known as gene expression. It occurs when stimuli from within or outside your body switch certain genes “on” or “off.” Switching on protective genes or switching off harmful ones (modulating gene expression) is one of the most exciting areas of medical research.

Calorie restriction turns on genes directly related to long term survival. This includes genes that reduce the activity of certain cancer-promoting agents, genes that induce programmed death of cancer cells, and genes that confer neuroprotection.1

The incredible news is that many of the same genes that confer a longer life span can be favorably modulated with plant extracts such as resveratrol and pterostilbene.


If you go to Wikipedia there is a whole bunch of pubmed links and various scientific journals on ptero linked on their site...


Association between Pterostilbene and Quercetin Inhibits Metastatic Activity of B16 Melanoma

[sunday]

Hey Jen,

I am baffled at the fact that it made you feel like this because I do not know anyone who has taken this supplement? Did you ever take blueberry extract? I used to drink it for my eyes and cognition.

If you go to Life Extension and look this article up, there is another ton of links to scientific research. Also on that same report it states....


How Pterostilbene Mimics Caloric Restriction

It’s truly remarkable how closely pterostilbene can mimic the beneficial effects of calorie restriction on a molecular level. Calorie restriction directly suppresses cancer-causing genes while up-regulating genes that suppress cancer development.1-21 In numerous studies pterostilbene modulates exactly the same genes, up-regulating those that stimulate the programmed cell death known as apoptosis, and down-regulating those that allow cancer cells to invade and metastasize.22-31

Calorie restriction changes expression of genes throughout the metabolic process. It increases activity of powerful fat-sensing complexes that lower blood lipids and sugar levels.32-35 Pterostilbene naturally activates these same fat-sensing complexes and was found to favorably affect lipid profiles in hamsters with elevated cholesterol.36,37

In the liver, calorie restriction favorably modifies several vital glucose-regulating enzymes, which helps to control blood sugar.38 Pterostilbene produces identical beneficial changes in many of those enzymes. It also reduces markers of dangerous glucose-damaged proteins (glycosylated hemoglobin).39

Calorie restriction dramatically reduces production of inflammatory mediators linked to age-related conditions such as atherosclerosis, chronic inflammatory diseases, and even cognitive decline.8,40-51 At the level of gene expression, pterostilbene exerts virtually identical effects, suppressing those same genes in studies of inflammation-related conditions.23,31,52-54 And like calorie restriction, pterostilbene up-regulates specific brain proteins associated with improved memory.55,56

[sunday]

Originally Posted by piratejenny

There are so many hormones that affect hunger & keep BG balanced!
mykidsteacher has mentioned recently that she was told fasting (skipping breakfast) makes the adrenal glands release additional cortisol...which is associated with "belly fat".

I don't skip breakfast, but I do have late breakfast on UD, so that I can get close to my 16 hours. I have breakfast, but rarely have lunch.




I think in the last post, I have found your answer! I am amazed that it worked so fast on you Jenny! I wonder if taking it before bed would be better? It is worth a try!

[sungoddess]

Mine came yesterday evening and I will start today and report back with what I find!

[piratejenny]

I took another today around 9am on an empty stomach, to see if that made a difference.

Had a 70-calorie gelatin protein drink a little later.
Didn't get hungry until about 2pm.
Blood sugar was 100 (I'm happy with that) and I didn't get shaky.
(I had woken up around 7am, so that's 5 hours without eating, except for the 70 calories.)

I took another one around 2pm when I ate.
I'm actually still a bit hungry but I'm saving 1/2 my food in case I have another "reaction" like I did yesterday.

[sunday]

Did you get the Jarrow brand? Only reason that I ask, is that I only take one per day as per the directions. 50 mg. I am just worried that you may can have too much, but I honestly don't know for certain???

I am thrilled that it is helping with AS!!!

[sweetlady2k]

I ordered the jarrow brand and got it yesterday. I took it at 6:30 am without food. Ate a big protein shake, egg salad and 2 servings of cashews at 9am (its my UD) it is 3:40 now and I am not hungry.

[sunday]

Hi sweetlady2k,

I will have to abstain from the pterostilbene on UD, because I have no appetite without it, so with it, I really couldn't eat enough.
My goodness, it is amazing that it packs such a powerful punch!

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by sunday

Hi sweetlady2k,

I have to abstain from the pterostilbene on UD, because I have no appetite without it, so with it, I really couldn't eat enough.
My goodness, it is amazing that it packs such a powerful punch!

Oh please let this happen to me!!!

[piratejenny]

Yes, I ordered the Jarrow brand, 50mg/capsule.

Some of the articles I came across yesterday mentioned taking 100-150mg per day.
I hope that one capsule a day will be sufficient (or even one capsule every other day, like you're doing, Sunday),
but figured I would try 2 or 3 caps a day the first week or so to see how it affects me, and to try different times of day; with food, without food, at bedtime, etc.

As I said yesterday, my reaction could have been a fluke.
The other thing I thought of was, when you eat you release insulin (even if it's a low-carb meal).
If the PSB acts similarly to insulin, perhaps taking it with a meal was like getting a double-dose of insulin! And that's why I got shaky later!

Taking it on an empty stomach in the morning will, I hope, only bring my BG down to a normal (for me) level.

I'm also hoping that taking it before bed might prevent the nighttime glucose dump/dawn phenomenon--oh gosh, that would be great!!!
I have been experimenting with my medication plus different foods & supplements, even wine , for over a year! It's my Holy Grail of Diabetes!!!

I won't try that til tomorrow since I already took 2 today.

[sunday]

Yes, I am anxious to see everyone get the same results I am having. I thought it could have been all in my head at first, but today is an UD and I notice I am very full. I still have 700 calories to go.


Jenny, I hope that you see much better results with taking it at bedtime.

Okay, this info below is from the Whole Foods site and I can't post a link but anyone can find it. This is the best explanation of what pterostilbene is and does. I highlighted about the benefits and yes, it does have blood sugar stabilization properties as well as anti-inflammation properties. So this might help with arthritis. I am very interested in heart health, longevity, and of course, lowering cholesterol.


What is pTeroPure™ Pterostilbene?
Pterostilbene (pronounced "tero-STILL-bean") is a naturally occurring antioxidant that is both structurally and functionally related to resveratrol. Both resveratrol and pterostilbene are phytoalexins--natural plant defense systems that have anti*fungal and anti*microbial properties. Pterostilbene is found in small berries, most notably blueberries and grapes. Chemically, pterostilbene is methylated resveratrol, meaning that a hydrogen atom (H) has been replaced with a "methyl group"--a carbon and 3 hydrogen atoms (CH3). This is illustrated in the diagram of the two compounds, to the right.

pTeroPure™ pterostilbene is the World's purist form of pterostilbene; over 99% pure. It was developed based on research conducted by the US Department of Agriculture and University of Mississippi and is produced under an exclusive license. There are other forms that are extracted from the heartwood of Indian Kino Tree (Pterocarpus marsupium), a threatened species of tree in India, but they only achieve a concentration of 15% to 25% pterostilbene, and contain 75% to 85% other compounds that may not be beneficial. Additionally, to make an extract from these severely threatened trees, you must kill them. Unlike the extract of Kino Tree wood, pTeroPure™ pterostilbene is ecologically sustainable. So no matter how you view it--purity, concentration, and/or environmental sustainability--pTeroPure pterostilbene is the clear choice!

Pterostilbene may confer significant health benefits. Preliminary research has found that it may have anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Additionally, research suggests that pterostilbene may offer distinct heart health benefits, including helping to support cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and reducing LDL cholesterol oxidation, which all may lead to reduced heart risk. There is also research indicating that pterostilbene may help support memory and cognitive function. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels.

One distinct advantage pterostilbene has over resveratrol is that it has a greater half*-life in the body. The half*-life of pterostilbene is 7.5 times greater than resveratrol's half-life; giving pterostilbene more time to work in the body than resveratrol. The longer half-life in the body could mean that pterostilbene may have greater potential to improve human health than resveratrol. However, pterostilbene has been shown to work synergistically with resveratrol, protecting human cells from damage due to oxidative stress, and making dual supplementation of the two compounds potentially more beneficial than taking either alone.

Much like resveratrol, the level of pterostilbene in blueberries is extremely low. Clinically significant levels, in the range of 50mg, are not achievable through dietary sources. They can only be reached by supplementation.

[piratejenny]

Unfortunately, "regulate blood sugar levels" is very vague.
IMO, it's become an over-used & often misleading catchphrase--when we're told that's the reason to eat 5 or 6 small meals per day, or whole grains, for example.

There are many mechanisms by which the body regulates BG, and it's important for me to know HOW it's working, especially if I'm combining methods.
Is it preventing the liver from dumping glucose? Is it an insulin mimetic? Does it improve insulin sensitivity?

(that's rhetorical, I'm not asking you to do my homework for me )

[sunday]

Oh boy, Jenny, I am not very scientific, my mother is the scientist,
but this is one of the links on the Wiki site...

I will study up later and see if I can understand this better.

Effects of Chronic Calorie Restriction or Dietary Resveratrol Supplementation on Insulin Sensitivity Markers in a Primate, Microcebus murinus

[piratejenny]

ugh, you know what those scientific papers look like to me?

jioejaljmsdljfkld [49082klkke]oiou0980am,. lojoiajiouhK%#@ [IEKLJAE]



ummm, thanks anyway!

[piratejenny]

Oh, yay, I understood something in one of the other studies you linked, Sunday!!!

The activities of the hepatic enzyme...glucose-6-phosphatase...were significantly decreased by the administration of pterostilbene in diabetic rats.

That's good! Because:

Here are two things that happen when we suddenly overwhelm our systems with dietary sugar:

• Cells become resistant to insulin and blood sugar rises.
• The liver over-expresses an enzyme called glucose-6-phosphatase

I recognized the g-6-p thing from reading about green coffee bean extract; that's one of the things it's supposed to do, too.

[C'Marie]

*whew* over my head..... I'm a tax accountant, not a scientist, Jim.

[sunday]

Today is DD and didn't reach a (3.5 point) in hunger scale until 1:45 pm, so I am counting today successful hungerwise!
My last meal will be at 5:00 & praying to make it till 10:00 am tomorrow which will be 17 hours. I am only taking one Ptero today because I feel like that is going to be enough!

Oh and last meal was 6:00 pm yesterday, so that means that I made it 19 hours fasting!