FINDINGS: Red wine lowered lung-cancer risk

[gpawelski]

The question: Does consumption of alcoholic beverages affect the likelihood that someone will develop lung cancer?

This study: It analyzed data on 78,168 men, with an average age of 58. In about a four-year period, 210 were diagnosed with lung cancer. Consumption of beer, white wine or liquor had no bearing on the occurrence of lung cancer. However, as consumption of red wine increased, lung-cancer risk fell, with each additional glass of wine a month corresponding to about a 2 percent drop in risk. Men who had smoked at some point realized the greatest benefit: Those who drank one glass of red wine daily were 60 percent less likely to have developed lung cancer than were those who did not drink red wine.

Who may be affected? Men who drink alcoholic beverages. More than 100,000 men develop lung cancer each year in the United States. Although the reason lung cancer strikes one person and not another often remains unclear, certain factors do increase risk, including exposure to tobacco smoke, radon, asbestos, some chemicals and air pollution, as does having a family history of the disease. Lung cancer occurs most often in people older than 65.

Caveats: Data on alcohol consumption came from the men's responses to questionnaires about recent consumption and did not include information on long-term use. Because most men reported drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, the study did not determine the effects of heavy drinking.

Source: October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

[gpawelski]

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.

Source: Cell Function Analysis

[CaroleHammett]

Dang!

I knew I was forgetting something while I was so tired, Greg!

I have clearly been remiss... will get on it right away... soon as I find the corkscrew

With love and affection

Carole

PS Yes, I'm back... sortakinda...posted earlier this week under "Good News" ... much more tired, but still pain-free and still have my sick sense of humor which pretty much makes all well in my world.

PPS Yes, I also know I owe you one or more emails, and hope to catch up over next couple weeks... unless I decide to take off for warmer parts (dropped to MINUS 18 degrees here two weeks ago, broke 1901 record).