Resveratrol for breast cancer prevention and treatment

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Therefore, it’s incredibly important that we do as much as possible to prevent it.

Fortunately, adding protective dietary compounds to your daily eating routine is one of the best prevention methods there is.

Resveratrol is one such protective compound…

Resveratrol is a phytoestrogen compound that occurs naturally in foods and beverages like red wine, dark chocolate, cocoa, blueberries, cranberries, peanuts and pistachios.

Researchers have established that the hormone estrogen plays a large role in the initiation, growth and spread of breast cancer cells. And its effects on hormones are just one of the prevention mechanisms resveratrol provides…

You see, resveratrol binds to estrogen receptors and provides unique anti-estrogen activity, which inhibits tumor transformation and cell growth.

On top of this, resveratrol has other anti-tumor capabilities, along with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that influence several mediators involved in all stages of cancer development — initiation, promotion and progression.

In terms of breast cancer treatment, one of the major challenges is a worrying phenomenon known as multidrug resistance, where a person is resistant to medications and their treatment becomes difficult, or sometimes even impossible.

This is another area that resveratrol compounds shine…

Resveratrol reduces drug oxidation metabolism to protect cells from being exposed to further carcinogens. And it also helps modulate the expression of estrogen and regulate the cell cycle — all of which appear to reverse multidrug resistance.

It’s been shown that resveratrol’s effects are dose-dependent, which means it’s important to ensure you get enough in your diet to experience the health benefits.

One issue that can limit resveratrol’s effectiveness is its low bioavailability — in other words, your body doesn’t absorb all of the compound when you consume it.

You can increase the bioavailability by combining resveratrol with other compounds such as piperine (found in black pepper), quercetin (found along with resveratrol in red wine and in foods like tomato, apples and kale), tea polyphenols and curcumin (found in turmeric).

Keeping this in mind, great ways to incorporate resveratrol into your daily diet include:

• Enjoying a glass of red wine (just one)
• Consuming a quarter to half a cup of blueberries or cranberries with a cup of green tea
• Adding peanuts or pistachios to a turmeric-rich curry that includes kale, broccoli and tomato (3 quercetin-rich foods)
• Enjoying a few squares of dark chocolate with an Earl grey tea

If you have a hard time getting enough resveratrol from food, or if your appetite is low as a result of chemotherapy, resveratrol supplements are also available.

Optimal doses have not been established, but common oral dosages are 500 milligrams taken twice daily.

Sources:

1. Alamolhodaei NS, et al. Resveratrol as MDR reversion molecule in breast cancer: An overview. — Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2017;103:223-232.

2. Johnson JJ, et al. Enhancing the bioavailability of resveratrol by combining it with piperine. — Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2011;55(8):1169-1176.

3. Singh CK, et al. Resveratrol-based combinatorial strategies for cancer management. — Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2013;1290(1):113-121.