This attractive potion on the right is good for more than a fun night out. Janet L. Stanford of Fred Hutchinson's Public Health Sciences Division has found that it is most effective in the prevention of prostate cancer. It seems that a bottle a week of the red stuff reduces the risk of prostate cancer by approximately 50% and, even better, the type of prostate cancer it prevents is the most aggressive sort. They are not sure why exactly but an antioxidant called resveratrol, which is abundant in the skins of red grapes but much less so in the skins of white grapes seems to be the most likely candidate.

They think that it works in the following ways

- As an antioxidant, it helps sweep dangerous, cancer-causing free radicals from the body.
- As a potent anti-inflammatory agent, it blocks certain enzymes that promote tumor development.
- The compound also reduces cell proliferation, curtailing the number of cell divisions that could lead to cancer or the continued growth of cancer cells.
- It also enhances apoptosis, or programmed cell death, which helps rid the body of cancerous cells.
- It may act as an estrogen, reducing levels of circulating male hormones such as testosterone that fuel the growth of prostate cancer.

hmmm a bottle a week, that means The Green Man should be right until about 2050.

She found no significant effects – positive nor negative – associated with the consumption of beer or hard liquor and no consistent risk reduction with white wine. The Green Man will still be consuming it anyway. You can't be too careful can you?

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