Scientists now know exactly why polyphenols in red wine (mainly tannins and the red colour of the wine) and green tea inhibit cancer growth. This new discovery of French-Japanese research has been published online in The FASEB Journal in June. The article explains how antioxidants in red wine and green tea produce a combined effect to disrupt an important cell signalling pathway necessary for prostate cancer growth, labelled SphK1/S1P by the scientists.

“The SphK1/S1P signalling pathway not only plays a role in prostate cancer, but also in other cancers, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, and gastric cancers,” according to Gerald Weissmann, MD, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal. “Even if future studies show that drinking red wine and green tea isn’t as effective in humans as we hope, knowing that the compounds in those drinks disrupts this pathway is an important step toward developing drugs that hit the same target.”

“The profound impact that the antioxidants in red wine and green tea have on our bodies is more than anyone would have dreamt just 25 years ago,” Weissmann added. “As long as they are taken in moderation, all signs show that red wine and green tea may be ranked among the most potent ’health foods’ we know.”