Resveratrol SupplementsMight Prevent Breast Cancer in Women

Numerous scientific studes have been conducted recently on resveratrol and prominent news programs and talk shows have featured it. According to an article published by WebMD, supplementing with resveratrol may help stop breast cancer.

Resveratrol is a substance called an antioxidant (this is why acai berry supplements are so popular) which is contained 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. It is also becoming popular as a health supplement.

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 decrease the effects that estrogen has on causing the growth of tumors. It may also increase the production of an enzyme that destroys harmful particles of estrogen. This may mean that resveratrol supplements can stop breast cancer before it even starts, at least what is caused by excess estrogen.

For the laboratory tests, relatively low levels of resveratrol produced results when used systematically. More testing is needed to determine what amount of supplement 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.

To sum it all up, resveratrol research has shown that resveratrol might stop the 1st step of the process that can lead to breast cancer that is caused by elevated levels of estrogen. These tests were done in a test tube and show promising results, but further research must to be done before it can be proved that it really prevents breast cancer in women.

This information is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered scientific fact. 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/.