by Julie Gabriel

Created on: January 31, 2009   Last Updated: February 05, 2009

It's well known that drinking red wine in moderation can have some health benefits, mainly thanks to a compound called resveratrol. Now, scientists have discovered how.

Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in a number of plants, including grape skins, raspberries, mulberries and peanuts. Its job in nature is to fight fungus during the rainy season, and it is especially prevalent in grapes used in making red wine.

Today scientists know how resveratrol helps to starve cancer cells: it works by inhibiting the action of a key protein that feeds them. The protein, called nuclear factor- kappa B (NF-kB), is found in the nucleus of all cells and activates genes responsible for cell survival. Resveratrol initiated a reaction in the NF-kB molecule that caused the cancer cells essentially to self-destruct in a process called apoptosis.

So here's good news: resveratrol in one glasses of wine three or four times a week provides just the right amount to block the protein from feeding cancer cells. Drinking much more than that, however, could stop this affect and, in fact, lead to a greater risk of cancer. If you'd rather not drink alcohol, you can buy resveratrol over-the-counter as a nutritional supplement. And you can always enjoy the amazing qualities of resveratrol when it's added to the skincare product as a skin cancer insurance premium!

Scientific studies have shown that resveratrol can help control atherosclerosis, heart disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Resveratrol-fed female mice had considerable reduction in their risk of breast cancer, and resveratrol-fed mice showed an 87 percent reduction in their risk of developing prostate tumors that contained the worst kind of cancer-staging diagnosis.

Resveratrol also keeps our lungs healthy, especially if you smoke. British Medical Journal reported that resveratrol seems to slow down the inflammatory process in the progressive lung disease in smokers. The consumption of more than three glasses of red wine a week reduced the risk for significant colorectal neoplasia, or colon cancer.

And the good news keeps coming. Here's another reason to indulge in red wine in moderation:

Resveratrol reduces the number of fat cells and may one day be used to treat or prevent obesity, according to a new study. Resveratrol protected laboratory mice that were fed a high-calorie diet from the health problems of obesity, by mimicking the effects of calorie restriction. The new finding is consistent with the theory that the resveratrol in red wine explains the French paradox, the observation that French people eat a relatively high-fat diet but have a low death rate from heart disease.

However, such amazing qualities may come at a price: a small study theorized that resveratrol may stimulate the growth of human breast cancer cells, possibly because resveratrol's chemical structure is similar to a phytoestrogen, an estrogen-like substance found in some plants. Doctors caution that while the health benefits of resveratrol seem promising, there is not sufficient knowledge about the effects of long-term treatment.

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