A new study from the U.S.A has shown that drinking between one and two glasses of red wine could help reduce the risk of getting prostate cancer. In the August edition of the Journal of Carcinogenesis, researchers from the University of Alabama discovered that resveratrol, a component of red wine, helped decrease the risk of developing the prostate cancer.
Resveratrol, which has potent antioxidant and anti-cancer effects on the body was fed to mice for 7 months in their food and showed an 87% decrease in the risk of developing prostate cancer. Other mice which were also fed resveratrol, but developed a lesser form of prostate tumor, had a 48% greater chance of the cancer growth slowing or being stopped compared to other mice who did not ingest resveratrol.
This study is just one of many studies into resveratrol which has shown the exceptional benefits of resveratrol consumption. Another study by the University of Alabama in Birmingham from 2006 showed that female mice which were given resveratrol had a sizeable reduction in the risk of breast cancers and tumors.
New research is now being conducted on the benefits of human consumption of resveratrol in regards to cancer as well as the amount of resveratrol required for its remarkable benefits as the amount of resveratrol given to the mice in this study was equivalent to a human consuming about one bottle of red wine per day. However, this research on resveratrol is quite exciting for researchers and will only promote resveratrol as a superfood.
Below is a snap shot of some of the new, frontline research being conducted on the potential health effects of resveratrol.
As you can see from previous articles exposing the benefits of taking resveratrol supplements, resveratrol has a whole lot going on for it, but did you know that men actually receive a whole lot of extra benefits when taking resveratrol?
A simple reason: resveratrol acts as an estrogen blocker.
E for evil
Estrogen, while generally thought to be present in women, is surprisingly found in men, although in much smaller quantities. The problem with estrogen, however, is some of the negative effects it can have on the body. It is surprising what estrogen can do, especially in males! These are only a few:
· Increase body fat storage
· Reduce muscle mass
· Decrease strength
· Can cause gynecomastia (the development of breast tissue in males)
Not pretty is it?
But wait, there’s more!
Estradiol (the major form of estrogen in the body) can also enter the bloodstream and signal the pituitary gland in the brain to decrease the production of testosterone in the body.
The Good News: Resveratrol
We all agree estrogen has some pretty nasty effects, nonetheless men still need some in their body for optimum health, and here is whyresveratrol is so important. Resveratol acts as an estrogen antagonist (although in some tissues may act as an estrogen agonist); this means that resveratrol works against the production of more estrogen and may even block excess testosterone from turning into estrogen. Increased levels of testosterone will help decrease fat mass, increase muscle mass and strength, increase sex drive and can also increase feelings of well being.
Studies have also shown that resveratol increased the pituitary hormones responsible for testosterone production in the testes by 2.7 times greater than the placebo. And even better news for men, further studies have also shown that resveratrol increased sperm count by 76% - that’s almost double! Furthermore, although high levels of testosterone have often been associated with the increased risk of developing prostate cancer,resveratrol has been found to potentially prevent and treat prostate cancer.
If you were concerned about taking resveratrol supplements in the past, then you can see from here that resveratrol has huge health applications, especially for men. Estrogen can often be a nasty hormone for men and with the help of resveratrol you can help relieve that problem