Drink more wine! Study seems to show why French suffer less heart disease, cancer.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have discovered why a compound found in grapes and grape

products such as red wine shows natural cancer-fighting properties that might be important in preventing or treating the illness.

The work appears to explain the so-called “French paradox” — the fact that French people experience lower rates of heart disease

death and certain cancers despite drinking more wine on average than U.S. residents do.

Scientists found that the substance, trans-Resveratrol, or Res, modulates the activity of NF-kappa B, a protein that attaches to DNA

inside cell nuclei and turns genes on and off like a switch, the scientists found. Res apparently helps turn off a natural protective

mechanism in the body involving the protein that prevents cancer cells from being killed, as they should be.