Wine & Health
Friday, March 5th, 2010
 By now, many of you know about the potential benefits of Resveratrol. They have been well highlighted in numerous journals, magazines and newspapers over the last ten years. You can read a nice clean summary about the compound, its alleged benefits and more in an article I posted last year. Now comes the release of a presentation made by University of Connecticut researchers at a National Institute of Health symposium in Washington D.C. that shows that resveratrol limits damage caused by a heart attack, prevents sudden cardiac death in animals and may be “the best yet devised method of cardioprotection.” The red grape molecule seems to work its cardioprotective effect through the compound adenosine, a nucleoside that activates antioxidants in the heart prior to a heart attack.
This brings into question the role of low dose aspirin, a preventative therapy ascribed to by millions and recommended since 1988 by the FDA to limit heart attack. Dr. Nate Leibowitz, cardiologist with the Advanced Cardiology Institute in Ft. Lee New Jersey, believes that aspirin therapy for the prevention of heart attacks has a limited effect. Where there does seem to be some benefit, however, is in women with a positive mutation of the apolipoprotein(a) gene (LPA) gene.
A recent paper published in the American Journal of Medicine indicates that the dosage of aspirin recommended traditionally by the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the US Preventive Services Task Force (75-81mg) appears to be far too low to offer a significant reduction in stroke or heart attack. In fact, half of the people experiencing a sudden mortal heart attack were taking aspirin on the day of their demise. In addition, the risk of gastric bleeding with low dose therapy is ten times that non users. James E. Dalen, MD, MPH, who some of you may recognize as the former dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, says that only one in seven human studies using 100mg of aspirin demonstrates a decreased incidence of heart attack.
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Tags: Aspirin, heart attack, Resveratrol
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Monday, January 4th, 2010
While the potential benefits of alcoholic spirits consumed in responsible moderation has been well publicized, so too has been the possible link between alcohol intake and the risk of breast cancer. Now comes a study funded by the National Cancer Institute, through a research division of Kaiser Permanente, that examines a possible association between recurrent breast cancer in survivors and alcohol intake.
Culled from nearly 1900 early breast cancer survivors between the years of 1997 and 2000, 275 women later developed recurrent breast cancer. Of the 275 women, 232 deaths were recorded. Researchers then compared the rate of recurrence to alcohol intake and discovered that those subjects consuming more than two drinks of alcohol per day had a 39% increased risk of recurrent breast cancer. In the subset of post-menopausal women, the risk nearly doubled, according to the statistics. It should be noted that 90% of the women who consumed alcohol, did so in the form of wine.
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Tags: alcohol and breast cancer, Breast cancer
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Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Amongst the potential benefits seen in both in vitro and in vivo studies of light to moderate alcohol intake has been a possible reduction in risks of some types of cancer. You can read more about this in both the Wine Inquirer archived article on Wine and Esophageal Cancer and a review article on Reveratrol. Now comes a study from the National Institute of Health (NIH) that reports that alcohol consumption may offer a protective effect against developing thyroid cancer.
The research project, lead by cancer epidemiologist Cari Meinhold, examined data on 490,000 patients, aged 50-71 from United States metropolitan areas. The participants in the study completed lifestyle questionnaires which included questions on alcohol consumption. The study then followed up on the subjects 7 and ½ years later.
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Tags: alcohol, thyroid cancer
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Monday, October 19th, 2009
A study in the July edition of the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research hints that Resveratrol, the polyphenol, antioxidant 800 pound gorilla, may be capable of inhibiting viral replication at the cellular level. The study was conducted at the Sapienza University in Rome. Co-author Gianfranco Risuleo, said that viral DNA replication seems to be inhibited in the nucleus of the cell.
Two groups of mouse tissue, one with tumors and the other without, were exposed to a particular virus and subsequently to either 20 or 40 micromoles of resveratrol. For comparison, a control group was not exposed to any resveratrol.
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Tags: antioxidant, polyphenol, Resveratrol
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Resveratrol, it seems, just can’t seem to catch its breath. Whether the focus of still another research study on its potential health benefits (see archived articles: Wine and Inflammation, Radioprotective Effects of Wine, Alcohol Impact on Alzheimer’s in the Elderly, Wine Consumption in Males May Extend Life, Grape Seed Extracts May Suppress Leukemic Cells, Study Finds Heightened Risk of Breast Cancer With Wine, Resveratrol May Counteract Obesity and Resveratrol May Limit Damage Post Stroke) or advertised as a “cure all for what ails ya,” word of the compound seems to be everywhere. So what is resveratrol?
Resveratrol is what is known as a polyphenol found in, amongst other things, the skin of red grapes. Phenolic compounds, a type of antioxidant, are divided into flavinoids (those compounds that are responsible for the flavor and taste of grapes and other fruits such as tannins) and non flavinoids, of which resveratrol is a member. Resveratrol is also found in peanuts, mulberries, blueberries, cranberries, spruce, eucalyptus and various Chinese herbs. Now that I have bored you with some very basic chemistry, lets get into the facts.
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Tags: antioxidant, flavinoid, health benefits, nonflaviniod, oxidation, polyphenol, Resveratrol, tannins
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Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Scientists in Scotland and Singapore claim that they have discovered the mechanism through which resveratrol, the powerful phenol and anti-oxidant, counteracts the inflammatory process. The research was published in the August, 2009 FASEB journal and discusses how resvertrol could potentially control inflammatory processes such as appendicitis, sepsis and peritonitis.
A senior lecturer at the Glasgow Biomedical Research Center in Scotland recounts that sepsis is a very difficult condition to treat and can be fatal. The infection can affect multiple organ systems and for this reason, can result in a very low quality of life. The researchers were searching for innovative therapies that might suppress strong and acute inflammatory processes.
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Tags: inflammation, Resveratrol
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Monday, August 31st, 2009
According to a study in the August 2009 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, the official scientific publication of the American Society for Radiation Oncology, wine consumption while undergoing radiation for breast cancer may reduce the incidence of skin toxicity. The study was carried out jointly in three Italian centers: the Department of Oncology and the Center for High Technology Research and Education in Biomedical Sciences at Catholic University in Campobasso, Italy, the Catholic University Department of Radiotherapy and the National Research Council’s BioMatLab in Rome, both in Rome, Italy.
The study involved 348 patients and evaluated the skin toxicity response to wine consumption according to a graded skin response scale. It was noted that of the patients who consumed one glass of wine per day, there was a 13.6% risk of skin toxicity. Of those patients that abstained, the incidence of skin toxicity rose to 38.4%.
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Tags: antioxidant, Resveratrol, wine and breast cancer
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Monday, August 10th, 2009
Past studies have implicated alcohol in mitigating the risk of developing Alzheimer’s in middle aged individuals. Now comes a new study, one of the longest and largest of its kind, demonstrating that moderate alcohol intake by the elderly is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The results of the study were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association conference in Vienna, Austria in July.
The study followed 3,069 people of the age of 75 or older for a six year period. Researchers found that people who consumed 8-14 drinks of alcohol per week were 37% less likely to develop dementia, compared with those who obstained. The classification of alcohol (i.e., wine, hard spirits or beer) was irrelevant. To place this benefit into context, the reduction in risk is similar to that found in adults exercising three times per week according to a geriatrician from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
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Tags: alcohol, Alzheimer's, antioxidant, Resveratrol
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Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Gallstone attacks can be extremely painful, just speak to those who have suffered a bout. Gallstones can form when bile, stored to help the body digest fat, hardens into irregular “stones;” the stone(s) potentially blocking the normal exit of bile from the gallbladder and distending the organ in a very painful attack.
Now comes an intriguing study out of the University of East Angla School of Medicine in Norwich, U.K. which claims that one to two glasses of wine daily may help prevent gallstone formation by one third as compared to non-drinkers. The results of the study were presented in May, 2009 at the Digestive Disease Week conference in Chicago by Dr. Andrew Hart. Previous studies have suggested that alcohol, in general, may offer a preventative effect on gallstone formation.
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Tags: gallbladder, gallstones, wine
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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Three recent studies suggest that moderate wine intake may reduce the risk of the esophageal cancer, adenocarcinoma (AC) and its precursor, Barrett’s Esophagus. Barrett’s Esophagus arises as a result of chronic acid reflux from the stomach creating “heartburn” and eventually changing the cells from normal to abnormal. While it is estimated that only 5% of the U.S. population has the syndrome, the risk of esophageal AC is 30-40 times higher than in the normal population. However, heavy alcohol consumption (defined as more than the U.S. dietary guidelines of no more than two drinks per day for men and one for women) quadruples the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Previous research has suggested that alcohol is a strong risk factor in the development of SCC.
In one study, performed by Kaiser Permanente division of research in Oakland, CA, they found that as little as one glass of wine per day was associated with a 56% decrease in the risk for developing Barrett’s Esophagus. The study was culled from a larger study on alcohol consumption using three groups: one with diagnosed Barrett’s Esophagus, one with reflux but without Barrett’s and the third without reflux nor Barrett’s. Even after controlling for other variables, the results suggested that light to moderate wine consumption reduced the risk of Barrett’s, according the lead researcher Douglas A. Corley, MD. Dr Corley was quick to caution that these results do not suggest that wine consumption, in and of itself, is protective against Barrett’s and AC. As wine in high in antioxidants, known to reduce inflammation and possibly protective against some cancers, it may be that element that is effective in reducing the risks of Barrett’s and AC. At this point, the research suggests that alcohol does not seem to be a risk factor for the development of Barrett’s nor esophageal AC.
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Tags: acid reflux, antioxidants, Barrett's Esophagus, eosphageal cancer, heavy alcohol intake, reflux esophagitis
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