Four More Reasons To Drink Red Wine
January 26th, 2009
It May Lower Lung Cancer Risk. Moderate consumption of red wine may decrease the risk of lung cancer in men, researchers reported in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. Analyzing data collected from the California Men’s Health Study, they found that each glass of red wine consumed a month correlated with a 2 percent lower lung cancer risk. Men who drank one or two glasses of red wine a day saw a 60 percent reduced lung cancer risk. There were no similar benefits for white wine, beer or liquor drinkers, though, and smokers who drank red wine still, of course, had a higher lung-cancer risk than non-smokers.
At 10:08 am on January 27th, 2009 michaeledillonmd said:
interesting.. i have done red wine research for twenty years with interesting homeopathic results. a red wine formula i use can compete with allipathic chemotherapy on some chronic skin diseases without the side effects and better results. medillon,m.d.
At 7:33 pm on February 8th, 2009 Gregory D. Pawelski said:
Interesting! Very high doses of antioxidant polyphenols shut down and prevent cancerous tumors by cutting off the formation of new blood vessels needed for tumor growth.
Polyphenols – such as resveratrol – are commonly found in red wine. These compounds are found in the skin and seeds of grapes. When wine is made from these grapes, the alcohol produced by the fermentation process dissolves the polyphenols contained in the skin and seeds.
Red wine contains more polyphenols than white wine because the making of white wine requires the removal of the skins after the grapes are crushed.
Resveratrol is a type of polyphenol called a phytoalexin, a class of compounds produced as part of a plant’s defense system against disease. It is produced in the plant in response to an invading fungus, stress, injury, infection or ultraviolet irradiation. Red wine contains high levels of resveratrol, as do grapes, raspberries, peanuts and other plants.
Resveratrol has been shown to reduce tumor incidence in animals by affecting one or more stages of cancer development. It has been shown to inhibit growth of many types of cancer cells in culture. Evidence also exists that it can reduce inflammation. It also reduces activation of NF kappa B, a protein produced by the body’s immune system when it is under attack.
Although red wine consumption during chemotherapy or radiation treatment has not been well studied, it is not contraindicated. If a patient already drinks red wine moderately, most physicians would not tell a patient to give it up during treatment. Perhaps a better choice would be to drink as much red or purple grape juice as desired.