Many medical professionals are hesitant to advise their patients to drink alcohol, but new research suggests red wine may be good for more than just heart health.

Researchers have found that men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per week are only 52 percent as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who do not drink red wine, according to new research recently published in the "Harvard Men's Health Watch." 

In addition, red wine appears particularly protective against advanced or aggressive cancers.

Researchers in Seattle collected information about many factors that might influence the risk of prostate cancer in men between ages 40 and 64, including alcohol consumption. 

At first the results for alcohol consumption seemed similar to the findings of many earlier studies: There was no relationship between overall consumption and risk. But the scientists went one step further by evaluating each type of alcoholic beverage independently. Here the news was surprising -- wine drinking was linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. And when white wine was compared with red, red had the most benefit.

Even low amounts seemed to help, and for every additional glass of red wine per week, the relative risk declined by 6%. 

Why red wine? Doctors don't know. But much of the speculation focuses on chemicals -- including various flavonoids and resveratrol -- missing from other alcoholic beverages. These components have antioxidant properties, and some appear to counterbalance androgens, the male hormones that stimulate the prostate

Many doctors are reluctant to recommend drinking alcohol for health, fearing that their patients might assume that if a little alcohol is good, a lot might be better. The "Harvard Men's Health Watch" notes that men who enjoy alcohol and can drink in moderation and responsibly may benefit from a lower risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and cardiac death.

Wine and food

If you have not heard by now, the simple addition of a small glass of red wine to your diet each day can not only help you live longer, but healthier. Doctors have concluded studies, mostly on the French who have a higher intake of fatty foods and cholesterol, and found the French with a much lower rate of heart disease. Researchers attributed this phenomena to the fact that their daily intake of red wine is much higher than anywhere else in the world.

For many years doctors and scientists have known of the link but have never been able to pin point this association until recently when 60 minutes aired it on their show. Scientists have determined that biologically active flavonoids, a natural substance found in red grapes and their stems, "contain some of the most powerful antioxidants yet discovered'. These antioxidants were determined to be seven times more potent than vitamin C, E, and betacarotene says Dr. Bagchi, lead researcher of the Creighton team at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Dr. Hackman of the University of California in Davis, says "flavonoids are important for neutralizing harmful free radicals which may be a cause of many chronic and degenerative diseases such as certain types of cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and rhumatoid arthritis, as well as the aging process itself". Dr. Hackman goes on to say that flavonoids "reduce blood platelet stickiness allowing the blood to flow more smoothly through vessels, thereby reducing our risk of heart attack and stroke". Technical data on the research of flavonoids and the reduction of heart attacks and strokes can be found in the Journal of American Medical Association, Oct. 1995 vol. 274 pgs 1197-1198.

Technical data on the research of flavonoids and the reduction of heart attacks and strokes can be found in the Journal of American Medical Association, Oct. 1995 vol. 274 pgs 1197-1198.