Wine and Cancer Prevention

The wine toast, “To a long life” might just have a good solid scientific basis. Mostly because the French (who consume a great deal of wine) always have lower cholesterol, and fewer incidences of heart disease and cancer than the rest of the world, scientists have been compelled to find out what causes this phenomenon. And they have traced that cause to wine consumption — specifically, to the compounds that are found in red wine.

The French consume more red wine than white wine, and there are more of the cancer-fighting properties in red wine than in white wine because these properties are mostly found in the skins of the grapes. The skins remain in contact with the juice in the production of red wine much longer than they do in the production of white wine.

I don’t want to get “technical” on you, but the compounds that the scientists have deemed responsible for these health benefits are biologically active phytochemicals. Polyphenols like catechins and resveratrol are believed to have antioxidant or anticancer properties.

Reveratrol is a kind of polyphenol called a phytoalexin. Phytoalexins are a class of compounds produced as part of a plant’s defense system against disease. These compounds are produced by plants to ward off fungus, stress, injury, infection, or just too much sunlight. The skins of grapes contain very high levels of these compounds and, thus, red wine contains high levels of these compounds. High levels of phytoalexins are also found in raspberries, peanuts, and other plants.

The studies being conducted into the cancer-fighting properties of red wine are in their early stages. Your doctor isn’t likely to prescribe a glass of red wine to fight cancer, but the implications are truly fascinating and certainly promising. A toast! To a long life!