Smart Woman: Red Wine Consumption May Reduce Risks Of Breast Cancer
By: Victor Sotelo
Updated: January 6, 2012
For years, women have been told limiting alcohol could lower their risk of breast cancer.
Now new research shows drinking red wine in moderation may help lower a woman's chances of the disease.
Researchers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center looked at 36 younger women who drank eight ounces of cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay daily for almost a month, and then switched to the other other type of wine for a month.
They saw a difference in the women who drank red.
"In red wine the hormone levels, the estrogen levels decreased while the testosterone levels increased and that may actually be a change for risk factors for breast cancer risk," said Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt of Cedars-Medical Center.
Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt says that's encouraging because the change in hormone patterns suggests red wine may prevent the growth of cancer cells
These new findings challenge much of the current research on alcohol and breast cancer.
One study late last year that found women had a 15 percent increased risk of breast cancer if they drank three to six drinks a week.
Dr. Shufelt says they didn't see the same protective effects with white wine but that doesn't mean white wine ups the cancer risk.
"Red wine has red grapes the red seed and that's been found to have phytochemicals that would shift the estrogen levels to be lower to where as white wine did not," said Dr. Shufelt.
More research is needed to confirm this small study. The study authors say just how safe and effective red wine is in reducing cancer risk remains to be seen.
Now new research shows drinking red wine in moderation may help lower a woman's chances of the disease.
Researchers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center looked at 36 younger women who drank eight ounces of cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay daily for almost a month, and then switched to the other other type of wine for a month.
They saw a difference in the women who drank red.
"In red wine the hormone levels, the estrogen levels decreased while the testosterone levels increased and that may actually be a change for risk factors for breast cancer risk," said Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt of Cedars-Medical Center.
Dr. Chrisandra Shufelt says that's encouraging because the change in hormone patterns suggests red wine may prevent the growth of cancer cells
These new findings challenge much of the current research on alcohol and breast cancer.
One study late last year that found women had a 15 percent increased risk of breast cancer if they drank three to six drinks a week.
Dr. Shufelt says they didn't see the same protective effects with white wine but that doesn't mean white wine ups the cancer risk.
"Red wine has red grapes the red seed and that's been found to have phytochemicals that would shift the estrogen levels to be lower to where as white wine did not," said Dr. Shufelt.
More research is needed to confirm this small study. The study authors say just how safe and effective red wine is in reducing cancer risk remains to be seen.
