Research - Red Wine
Alcohol consumption and survival of colorectal cancer patients: a population-based study from Germany
- Viola Walter3,*,
- Lina Jansen3,
- Alexis Ulrich8,
- Wilfried Roth4,9,
- Hendrik Bläker10,
- Jenny Chang-Claude5,
- Michael Hoffmeister3, and
- Hermann Brenner
Abstract
Background: Studies on the association between alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis have yielded inconsistent results.
Objective: The associations of lifetime and 1-y prediagnostic alcohol consumption with relevant prognostic outcomes were evaluated in a large population-based cohort of CRC patients.
Design: In 2003–2010, 3121 patients diagnosed with CRC were interviewed on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, medication, and comorbidities. Cancer recurrence, vital status, and cause of death were documented for a median follow-up time of 4.8 y. With the use of Cox proportional hazard regression, associations between lifetime and recent alcohol consumption and overall, CRC-specific, recurrence-free, and disease-free survival were analyzed.
Results: In this patient cohort with a median age of 69 y at diagnosis, lifetime abstainers showed poorer overall [adjusted HR (aHR): 1.25; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.52] and CRC-specific (aHR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.70) survival than lifetime light drinkers (women: >0–12 g/d; men: >0–24 g/d). Lifetime heavy drinkers showed poorer overall (aHR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.78) and disease-free (aHR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.74) survival. Alcohol abstaining in the year before diagnosis was associated with poorer overall (aHR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.20, 1.68), CRC-specific (aHR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.68), and disease-free (aHR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.44) survival. Lifetime abstainers with nonmetastatic disease showed poorer CRC-specific (aHR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.10, 2.00) and recurrence-free (aHR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.70) survival. Wine abstaining but not beer or liquor abstaining was associated with poorer survival. Associations between alcohol consumption and prognosis varied according to presence of diabetes and age.
Conclusions: Prediagnostic alcohol abstaining and heavy drinking were associated with poorer survival after a CRC diagnosis than light drinking. The protective effects of light consumption might be restricted to wine, and associations might differ according to age and presence of diabetes mellitus.
Source : American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
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Dark Chocolate and Red Wine The Food of Love and Health
If you want to keep your true love's heart beating strong, Susan Ofria, clinical nutrition manager at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, said the real food of love is dark chocolate and red wine. In moderation, red wine and dark chocolate are good health choices not just on Valentine’s Day, but for any occasion. "You are not even choosing between the lesser of two evils, red wine and dark chocolate have positive components that are actually good for your heart," said Ofria, a registered dietitian at the Loyola University Health System's Melrose Park campus.
Red wine and dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70 percent or higher contain resveratrol, which has been found to lower blood sugar. Red wine is also a source of catechins, which could help improve "good" HDL cholesterol.
Ofria, who is also a nutrition educator, recommends the following list of heart-healthy ingredients for February, which is national heart month, and for good heart health all year.
Eight Ways to Say "I Love You" From Loyola Dietitian
Red Wine - "Pinots, shirahs, merlots -- all red wines are a good source of catechins and resveratrol to aid 'good' cholesterol."
Dark chocolate, 70 percent or higher cocoa content -- "Truffles, soufflés and even hot chocolate can be a good source of resveratrol and cocoa phenols (flavonoids) as long as dark chocolate with a high content of cocoa is used."
Salmon/tuna -- "Especially white, or albacore, tuna and salmon are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, and canned salmon contains soft bones that give an added boost of calcium intake."
Flaxseeds -- "Choose either brown or golden yellow, and have them ground for a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, phytoestrogens."
Oatmeal -- "Cooked for a breakfast porridge or used in breads or desserts, oatmeal is a good source of soluble fiber, niacin, folate and potassium."
Black or kidney beans -- Good source of niacin, folate, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, soluble fiber.
Walnuts and almonds -- "Both walnuts and almonds contain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, fiber and heart-favorable mono- and polyunsaturated fats."
Blueberries/cranberries/raspberries/strawberries -- "Berries are a good source of beta carotene and lutein, anthocyanin, ellagic acid (a polyphenol), vitamin C, folate, potassium and fiber."
Source : Newswise
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Tea, wine extracts disable Alzheimer’s ‘clumps’
Chemicals from green tea and red wine may disrupt a key step in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows.
In early-stage laboratory experiments, the researchers identified the process that allows harmful clumps of protein to latch on to brain cells, causing them to die. They were able to interrupt this pathway using the purified extracts of EGCG from green tea and resveratrol from red wine.
The findings, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, offer potential new targets for developing drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which affects some 800,000 people in the UK alone, and for which there is currently no cure.
“This is an important step in increasing our understanding of the cause and progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” says lead researcher Professor Nigel Hooper of the University of Leeds. “It’s a misconception that Alzheimer’s is a natural part of aging; it’s a disease that we believe can ultimately be cured through finding new opportunities for drug targets like this.”
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by a distinct build-up of amyloid protein in the brain, which clumps together to form toxic, sticky balls of varying shapes. These amyloid balls latch onto the surface of nerve cells in the brain by attaching to proteins on the cell surface called prions, causing the nerve cells to malfunction and eventually die.
“We wanted to investigate whether the precise shape of the amyloid balls is essential for them to attach to the prion receptors, like the way a baseball fits snugly into its glove,” says co-author Jo Rushworth. “And if so, we wanted to see if we could prevent the amyloid balls binding to prion by altering their shape, as this would stop the cells from dying.”
The team formed amyloid balls in a test tube and added them to human and animal brain cells. “When we added the extracts from red wine and green tea, which recent research has shown to re-shape amyloid proteins, the amyloid balls no longer harmed the nerve cells,” says Hooper. “We saw that this was because their shape was distorted, so they could no longer bind to prion and disrupt cell function.
“We also showed, for the first time, that when amyloid balls stick to prion, it triggers the production of even more amyloid, in a deadly vicious cycle,” he adds.
Hooper says that the team’s next steps are to understand exactly how the amyloid-prion interaction kills off neurons. “I’m certain that this will increase our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease even further, with the potential to reveal yet more drug targets,” he says.
“Understanding the causes of Alzheimer’s is vital if we are to find a way of stopping the disease in its tracks,” says Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, which partly funded the study.
“While these early-stage results should not be a signal for people to stock up on green tea and red wine, they could provide an important new lead in the search for new and effective treatments. With half a million people affected by Alzheimer’s in the UK, we urgently need treatments that can halt the disease—that means it’s crucial to invest in research to take results like these from the lab bench to the clinic.”
The Wellcome Trust, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and the Medical Research Council funded the study.
Source : Futurity via Leeds University
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Red Wine Compound Could Help Seniors Walk Away From Mobility Problems
This research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
In a stride toward better health in later life, scientists reported today that resveratrol, the so-called “miracle molecule” found in red wine, might help improve mobility and prevent life-threatening falls among older people. The finding, believed to be the first of its kind, was presented today to some 14,000 scientists and others gathered at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
The researchers say this report — based on studies of laboratory mice — could lead to the development of natural products designed to help older Americans live safer and more productive lives.
“Our study suggests that a natural compound like resveratrol, which can be obtained either through dietary supplementation or diet itself, could actually decrease some of the motor deficiencies that are seen in our aging population,” said Jane E. Cavanaugh, Ph.D., leader of the research team. “And that would, therefore, increase an aging person’s quality of life and decrease their risk of hospitalization due to slips and falls.”
Cavanaugh notes that falls become more common with advancing age and are the leading cause of injury-related death among people older than 65. In addition, about one in three older Americans have difficulty with balance or walking, according to the American Geriatrics Society.
These mobility problems are particularly common among older people who have Parkinson’s disease and other age-related neurological disorders, Cavanagh said. She is with Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. However, while drugs can help alleviate some of the motor-related problems in Parkinson’s disease, Cavanaugh points out that there are no comparable treatments for balance and walking problems in otherwise healthy older adults. She and her colleagues set out to rectify that, focusing on natural chemical compounds such as resveratrol.
Previous studies have shown that resveratrol — an antioxidant found in red wine and dark-skinned fruits — might help reduce inflammation, lower cholesterol, slash the risk of heart disease and certain cancers and, perhaps, have some anti-aging effects in the body. Resveratrol is available as a dietary supplement and is abundant in foods such as red grapes, blueberries and nuts.
To determine its effects on balance and mobility, Cavanaugh, Erika N. Allen and colleagues fed young and old laboratory mice a diet containing resveratrol for eight weeks. They periodically tested the rodents’ ability to navigate a steel mesh balance beam, counting the number of times that each mouse took a misstep. Initially, the older mice had more difficulty maneuvering on the obstacle. But by week four, the older mice made far fewer missteps and were on par with the young mice.
While it is unclear how resveratrol works in the body, Cavanagh’s team found some clues. In laboratory experiments, they exposed neural cells to a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which in large amounts can induce cell death. However, neurons treated with resveratrol before being exposed to dopamine survived. On closer examination, the researchers found that resveratrol mitigated the damage done by oxygen free radicals, generated by the breakdown of the dopamine, and activated protein signaling pathways that appeared to promote cell survival.
Although she is encouraged by the results, Cavanaugh notes that resveratrol does have some drawbacks. For instance, it is poorly absorbed by the body. In fact, she calculates that a 150-pound person would have to drink almost 700 4-ounce glasses of red wine a day to absorb enough resveratrol to get any beneficial effects. That’s why she and her colleagues are investigating similar man-made compounds that mimic the effects of resveratrol and might be more bioavailable to the body. They’re also trying to determine how much resveratrol actually enters the brain.
Nevertheless, the researchers suspect that even if the effects of resveratrol in the brain are minute, this small margin could potentially be enough to help older people remain steady on their feet and avoid taking serious tumbles.
Source : Newswise
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Red Wine Study Hints at Breast Cancer Benefit
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
If young women want a glass of wine with dinner, they should probably go with the cabernet sauvignon instead of the chardonnay. That's the implication of a small cross-over study that suggests that substances in red wine act as aromatase inhibitors, compounds that are used to treat breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to Glenn Braunstein, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues.
The study in pre-menopausal women found no such effect with white wine, Braunstein and colleagues reported online in the Journal of Women's Health.
"There are chemicals in red grape skin and red grape seeds that are not found in white grapes that may decrease breast cancer risk," Braunstein said in a statement.
Epidemiologic studies have shown an increased risk of breast cancer associated with drinking alcohol, but the role of red wine has been controversial, the researchers noted. A study in 2009 found that the color of the wine had no effect on breast cancer risk and other studies have suggested it's the amount, not the type, of alcohol that increases risk.
To help clarify the issue, the researchers enrolled 36 women, with an average age of 36, and randomly assigned them to drink eight ounces red or white wine at dinner for 21 days, abstaining during their period, and then crossing over to the other type of wine for another 21 days.
They were asked to abstain from all other forms of alcohol and grape products.
The goal of the study was to see if the red wine resulted in changes in hormone patterns as measured during the follicular and luteal phases of three menstrual periods -- at baseline, after the first wine arm, and again after the second.
Braunstein and colleagues measured levels of estradiol, estrone, androstenedione, total and free testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone.
Aromatase inhibitors work by blocking the conversion of androstenedione and testosterone into estrogen, which increases blood levels of testosterone and decreases estradiol, estrone, and sex hormone binding globulin.
Analysis showed that the red wine -- but not the white -- mimicked the effects of aromatase inhibitors:
- Compared with white wine, the red was associated with a higher level of free testosterone -- an average difference of 0.64 picograms per milliliter of blood (P=0.009)
- Similarly, it was associated with lower sex hormone binding globulin -- a mean difference of minus 5.0 nanomole per liter (P=0.007)
- Estradiol levels were lower after red wine, but the 14% difference did not reach significance, perhaps because of the small numbers in the study
- Luteinizing hormone was significantly higher after red wine, with a mean difference of 2.3 milliIU per milliliter (P= 0.027)
- There was no significant change in levels of follicle stimulating hormone, estrone, androstenedione, or total testosterone
Source : MedPage Today
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