Surviving John

Resveratrol has been the topic of numerous scientific studies and prominent news programs and talk shows have featured it. According to an article published by WebMD, resveratrol supplements may help slow breast cancer.

Resveratrol is a substance called an antioxidant (this is why acai berries are so popular) which is found in the skin of red grapes, red wines, and red grape juices. reservatrol can also be found in peanuts and some berries like cranberries and blueberries. Resveratrol supplements aer also starting to become popular.

One of the risk factors for breast cancer is exposure to estrogen. Whwn the body’s system for dealing with estrogen gets out of balance, higher amounts of estrogen can interact with cells and cause tumors to begin forming.

Resveratrol research done by the staff of the University of Nebraska has shown that it can reduce the effect that estrogen has on causing tumor growth. It also increases the production of a beneficial enzyme that destroys dangerous estrogen particles. This may mean that resveratrol supplements can stop breast cancer before it gets started, at least the cases that are due to too much estrogen in the body.

Please note that in these tests relatively low levels of resveratrol produced results when used systematically. A lot more testing is required to determine what amount of resveratrol supplements would need to be taken to produce the desired level in the blood, but since it is a low level, researchers are hopeful that this can easily be accomplished.

In short, resveratrol research shows that resveratrol may stop the first step of the process that leads to breast cancer that is caused by elevated estrogen levels. These promising results were achieved in a laboratory setting, but further research needs to be done before it can be proved that it actually prevents breast cancer in women.

This article should be used for informational purposes only. The FDA has not approved resveratrol supplements for the treatment of any disease. You should consult your doctor for any treatments needed and before starting any exercise or diet program. Much of the information used in this article was obtained from research done by Oregon State University and is published at lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/resveratrol/.