Can red wine help ward off prostate cancer?

Molecules found in red wine could be used to create a breakthrough treatment. File pic

Molecules found in red wine could be used to create a breakthrough treatment. File pic

Published Jun 24, 2019

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Drinking red wine may lower the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

A study at Harvard University in the U.S. found that moderate red wine drinkers had a 16 per cent lower risk of developing the disease, while men already diagnosed with prostate cancer who drank red wine were 50 per cent less likely to see it progress into a deadlier form. 

Bottles of red wine are displayed at Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron (Haut-Medoc Label) in Cussac-Fort-Medoc, in the Medoc Region

The study, reported in the journal Cancer Prevention And Control, was based on 47,568 cancer-free men and 5,182 men with localised prostate cancer.

Exactly why red wine appears to have a protective effect is unclear.

One theory is that it is a result of antioxidants such as resveratrol, the concentration of which in red wine is tenfold that in white.

Resveratrol, is a compound produced in the skins of grape and has long been touted as an elixir capable of combating many diseases from cancer to dementia.

Daily Mail

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