Red Wine Back on the To Do List

At least for women: Red wine ingredient resveratrol stops breast cancer growth

About a week ago we found a downer article suggesting that red wine may not be the magic elixir of life extension that some people had been touting it as.  But now, another study suggests that the active ingredient in question in red wine might prevent the growth of breast cancer.

A new research report appearing in the October 2011 issue of The FASEB Journal shows that resveratrol, the "healthy" ingredient in red wine, stops breast cancer cells from growing by blocking the growth effects of estrogen. This discovery, made by a team of American and Italian scientists, suggests for the first time that resveratrol is able to counteract the malignant progression since it inhibits the proliferation of hormone resistant breast cancer cells. This has important implications for the treatment of women with breast cancer whose tumors eventually develop resistance to hormonal therapy.

 So, the scientists are advocating a glass of red wine with dinner each night, right?  Well, not exactly:

"These findings are exciting, but in no way does it mean that should people go out and start using red wine or resveratrol supplements as a treatment for breast cancer," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "What it does mean, however, is that scientists haven't finished distilling the secrets of good health that have been hidden in natural products such as red wine."

But you can't be blamed for trying.