Half glass of red wine 'protects from cancer'

The study found that a diet rich in grapes can help prevent the third most common form of cancer, one that kills more than half a million people worldwide and over 16,000 in Britain every year.

The University of California, Irvine cancer researchers found an ingredient in grapes, called resveratrol, blocks a chemical pathway that helps cancer spread.

They hope that as well as preventing cancer, the discovery could lead to new therapies for sufferers.

"This is truly exciting, because it suggests that substances in grapes can block a key intracellular signalling pathway involved in the development of colon cancer before a tumour develops," said Dr Randall Holcombe, who led the research.

The team studied patients diagnosed with colon cancer. One group was given 20 milligrams daily of resveratrol as a pill; another drank 120 grams (4oz) daily of grape powder mixed in water; and a third drank 80 grams (3oz) daily of grape powder.

While the supplements did not have an impact on existing tumours, biopsied colon tissue showed the patients taking 80 grams of grape powder drastically reduced the inter cell signals needed for tumours to spread.

The resveratrol chemical is found naturally in grape skins, wine and peanuts. Eighty grams of grape powder is equal to a half glass of wine or 1lb of grapes.

The researchers are not certain why the lower dose of grape powder was more effective than the higher one. However, they believe that the active components in the grapes may have different effects at low dose than they do at high dose, which is a fairly common finding in nutrition studies.

The research is to be unveiled tomorrow at the Society for Integrative Oncology's Fourth International Conference in San Francisco.

It follows an initial study by Dr Holcombe which looked at 499 colorectal cancer patients and found that moderate wine consumption before developing colon cancer was associated with improved survival outcomes among those patients with family history of colorectal cancer.

The researchers found that 75 per cent of such patients were alive after 10 years of initial diagnosis, compared with 47 percent of such patients who did not regularly drink wine.

"These findings could reflect unique genetic and environmental interactions among familial colorectal cancer patients, but further studies are needed to test this theory," said Professor Jason Zell, who worked on the study.

"Studies such as Dr Holcombe's with grape powder extract and resveratrol are important as they offer potential explanations for our findings."

HOW A DRINK A DAY COULD BOOST YOUR HEALTH

* 1/2 GLASS PER DAY
Benefits: Potentially protects against colon cancer because of resveratrol, a chemical in grape skin, which can also prevent blood clots

* 1-2 GLASSES PER DAY
Benefits: Can protect against heart disease using antioxidants which can prevent plaque formation

* 1 BOTTLE PER DAY
Benefits: None. Effects of alcohol cancel out health benefits and can trigger migraines and lead to obesity