Red wine could help you fight breast cancer

“Do you always pick the Pinot Grigio over the Pinot Noir? The Reisling over the Merlot? Well, if you're a woman, you might want to consider a change of colour,” says Christine O'Brien in Nutrition & Healing. Read on to discover how red wine could help you prevent breast cancer.

It seems red wine isn’t only good for your heart! The breast cancer fight could benefit from red wine as well. So making the switch to red wine could mean an extra boost to your breast cancer prevention efforts.

A study by the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles found that a change in wine preference could mean a boost in protection from breast cancer.

“Researchers say substances in red wine may act as aromatase inhibitors, and these are the exact aromatase inhibitors used for treatment of breast cancer in post-menopausal women,” says O'Brien in Nutrition & Healing.

Aromatase is an enzyme that helps the body make oestrogen, and extra oestrogen can lead to cancer formation.

Here’s why red wine could help prevent breast cancer

The substances which researchers found are helpful for breast cancer prevention are chemicals exclusive to red grape skin and seeds.

“Researchers measured the levels of several hormones and found the red wine mimicked the effects of aromatase inhibitors, which block the conversion of androstenedione and testosterone into oestrogen. Drinking red wine seemed to go along with a higher level of free testosterone as well as decreased oestradiol, oestrone, and sex hormone binding globulin all actions of aromatase inhibitors,” explains O'Brien.

So now that you know red wine can help keep breast cancer at bay, consider asking for red wine next time you’re perusing the wine list at your favourite restaurant or looking for a recommendation at your local wine shop.

Tags: breast cancer, aromatase inhibitors, oestrogen, aromatase, red wine and breast cancer