Red Wine Protects Against Cancer? Maybe Not

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on March 13, 2025.

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 13, 2025 -- Red wine has been thought to potentially offer protection against cancer, given its high levels of the anti-inflammatory antioxidant resveratrol.

But there’s no clear evidence that red wine lessens cancer risk, a new evidence review has concluded.

In fact, neither red nor white wine appears to increase people’s overall cancer risk, researchers recently reported in the journal Nutrients.

“We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to assess whether red wine is truly a healthier choice than white wine,” co-lead researcher Eunyoung Cho, an associate professor of epidemiology and dermatology at Brown University, said in a news release.

“The results revealed no significant difference in cancer risk between red and white wine overall,” Cho said.

For the evidence review, researchers pooled data from 42 studies involving nearly 96,000 participants to assess the cancer risks or benefits posed by red or white wine.

The resveratrol in red wine might not help against cancer because the body burns through it quickly, researchers said.

“Although concentrations of resveratrol are greater in red compared to white wine, studies have demonstrated that resveratrol is metabolized quickly, with nearly 75% excreted via feces and urine,” researchers wrote.

While their study found no overall link between wine and cancer, researchers did detect specific risk increases.

For example, white wine consumption was linked to a 22% increased risk of skin cancer compared to red wine, researchers said.

White wine might be linked to behaviors that increase risk for skin cancer, like indoor tanning or putting on too little sunscreen by the pool, researchers speculated.

They also detected a stronger association between white wine intake and increased overall cancer risk among women.

However, overall “our findings provided a critical public health message that drinking red wine may not be any better than drinking white wine in terms of cancer risk,” researchers concluded.

Alcohol -- specifically, the ethanol in alcoholic beverages -- is broken down by the body into compounds that damage DNA and proteins, contributing to cancer risk, researchers noted.

In 2020, heavy drinking was linked to more than 740,000 cancer cases worldwide, accounting for 4% of all cases, researchers said.

Sources

  • Brown University, news release, March 10, 2025
  • Nutrients, Jan. 31, 2025

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2025-03-14 00:00

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords