Red Wine Consumption May Benefit Lungs

Once again new research has found health benefits from red wine that may be viewed by some as nothing short of miraculous: daily red wine consumption may reduce the risk of lung cancer by as much as 60% in some high risk groups.¹

In the study, researchers looked at data collected from 84,170 men ages 45 to 69 years of age, who were part of Kaiser Permanente California health plans and participated in The California Men's Health Study. The participants' lifestyle and demographics were collected over a 3-year period. The men were followed for up to 6 years. Incidence of lung cancer were identified through their health plan cancer registries. The data were analyzed to determine if alcoholic beverage consumption made a difference in the risk of lung cancer.

After adjusting for confounding variables, the researchers found that lung cancer risk was reduced by about 2% for each glass of wine consumed per month. The effect was the greatest among heavy smokers. Male smokers who drank one to two glasses of red wine everyday had a 60% lower risk of developing lung cancer than whose who did not drink red wine daily.

It should be noted that the men who drank the red wine still had a much greater risk of developing lung cancer than nonsmokers. Smoking is the greatest risk factor in developing lung cancer, and stopping smoking is still the best way to reduce the risk. More research will need to de done to determine if the potential benefits of drinking red wine outweigh the risks of alcohol consumption. Most health experts do not recommend that nondrinkers start drinking.

Red wine naturally contains varying levels of polyphenolic antioxidants including resveratrol. Resveratrol has made a lot of news in the past few years as researchers have linked it to a variety of health benefits, including reduced risks of certain cancers. Previous research has indicated that resveratrol may help induce apoptosis (cell death) of abnormal cells and may have anti-carcinogenesis properties that are yet to be fully understood. Resveratrol or the other antioxidant compounds maybe be responsible for this benefit, but for now, the mechanism is not know.

You may be able to get some of the numerous benefits of red wine without the calories and alcohol with our OPC Grape Seed extract and Resveratrol products. Learn more here.

1. Chao, C., J. M. Slezak, et al. (2008). "Alcoholic Beverage Intake and Risk of Lung Cancer: The California Men's Health Study." Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 17(10): 2692-9.