The French research team found that the daily dosage of polyphenols have different effects.

Primarily, very high doses of antioxidant polyphenols, equivalent of one bottle of red wine per day, were able to shut down and prevent cancerous tumors by cutting off the formation of new blood vessels needed for tumor growth.

On the other hand, relatively low doses of polyphenols, equivalent to approximately one glass of red wine per day or simply sticking to a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables containing polyphenols, were found to play a beneficial role in combating heart disease, benefiting your circulatory system by facilitating blood vessel growth. This diet is known as the "Mediterranean Diet".

"The use of plant polyphenols as therapeutic tools presents important advantages," said Daniel Henrion, senior author of the study, "because they have a good safety profile, a low cost and they can be obtained everywhere on the planet."

"When it comes to finding treatments for complex diseases, the answers are sometimes right there waiting to be discovered in unexpected places like the produce aisles and wine racks of the nearest store," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal.