Wine may help reduce the risk of developing colon cancer, a recent study suggests. Researchers at the State University of New York recorded lifestyle histories from 1,500 patients who were undergoing the screening test called colonoscopy for the first time. Among those patients who were nonsmokers, just more than 4.5% of the wine drinkers (defined as those who had at least one glass of wine per week) were found to have a polyp. The rate of polyps in beer drinkers was three times higher, and in teetotalers the rate was almost twice as high. Wine had its biggest impact among smokers with less than 4% of smokers who drank at least one glass of wine a week found to have a polyp. The results were presented at a meeting of the American College of Gastroenterolgy in New York.
