Red Wine And Cancer Prevention

Cancer is undoubtedly one of the biggest killers and certainly the last thing you want to hear from a doctor. That being said, there are ways to limit your cancer risk. Some are conventional, while others may be surprising.

When it comes to health care, the world is full of interesting folksy theories on prevention. Eat this, wear that and so on. Of course, most of these guidelines simply do not work. Ah, but one of the bigger ones is starting to show real promise.

Every so often, common wisdom turns out to carry more than a grain of truth in it. We all know chicken soup helps with a cold, even if we don’t know why. Could the same be true for other things? Well, it appears a particular wine may have some benefits.

As with many rumored situations, the issue of red wine and its preventative properties has been seeing some medical research. This research has resulted in some interesting findings. Red wine does, in fact, help prevent certain cancers.

Red wine is rich in phytochemcials, which are chemicals found in plants. In particular, the wine has a heavy concentration of polyphenols. Some of these polyphenos, such as catechins and resveratrol, have anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties.

The magic substance is found in the grapes, but not where you would expect. It is not the juice or pulp. Nope. The seeds and skins are the key. They contain polyphenols, which are anti-oxidants.

Catechins are hugely vital to the prevention process. Why? Free radicals in your body are associated with mutations that can cause cancer, particularly aggressive cancer. Catechins essentially block free radicals from attacking health cells.

Ah, but red wine has another magic ingredient. It is called resveratrol. It is produced by grapes to fight off disease. It is effectively part of the immune system of a plant. Well, studies show it also attacks cancerous growths. Yes, it prevents the growth and spread of cancer.

It is important to understand all of these findings are preliminary results. While things look good, not enough studies have been conducted or even finished. Nonetheless, the few definitive findings are impressive.

The fear of most men is getting cancer in their prostate. It is a fairly aggressive form or cancer. Red wine appears to be helpful in preventing it. Drink 4 glasses of wine a week and you can cut the risk of it by up to 60 percent.

Does all this mean that you should rush down to the store and stockpile red wine? It is a bit early to suggest that. Nonetheless, a few glasses a week will not hurt.