With the recent death of actor Ron Silver due to esophageal cancer, many people are now wondering how to prevent getting it? I can understand that since this awful form of cancer is one of the fastest growing types of cancer in the United States. One method of prevention you may or may not have heard about is drinking wine. But does it really help, or is it just hype?

The one thing I need to mention real quick is that I’m not talking about abusing alcohol. In fact, that is one of the causes of squmous cell esophageal cancer. What this is about is drinking wine in moderation and how it can actually help protect against this type of cancer.


A study that was done by Kaiser Permanente showed a 56% decrease in getting what is called, Barrett’s esophagus. This form of cancer affects up to 5% of people in the U.S. This was only one such study, but others are also showing the same results.

So why is wine seemingly the solution in helping protect the body against esophageal cancer? Experts are not 100% sure yet, but it is suggested that the antioxidents in wine is the reason. They believe it prevents inflammation that injures the esophagus.

Doctors are urging caution in recommending that we all begin drinking wine every day, but these results in various studies seem to point to that being an effective strategy in reducing the risk of this type of cancer and many other health related illnesses. That would be good news indeed.