Aspirin and painkillers such as ibuprofen have been deemed too risky for use in the prevention of colon cancer, according to a federal task force.

The risk of intestinal bleeding, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems led the US Preventative Services Task Force to conclude that taking more than 300 milligrams per day of drugs like Motrin, Advil, and Aleve is just too risky to outweigh the potential benefits of preventing cancer. And while taking less than 100 milligrams of such drugs can reduce the risk of heart disease, it does nothing to lower the rate of colon cancer.

Details about this task force study are published in Monday's issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Red wine consumption is associated with a reduced risk of various forms of cancer--leukemia, breast and prostate, in animal studies and in real life. A new study found that drinking more than three glasses of red wine a week reduced the incidence of abnormal growths and cancers of the intestinal tract by two-thirds.

Red wine has something that white wine does not have. A compound found under the skin of the grape called resveratrol. Resveratrol content is higher in red wine than white wine because the grape skins are removed early in the fermentation process for white wines. Resveratrol interferes with all three stages of cancer formation--initiation, promotion and progression.

Dr. Joseph C. Anderson, an assistant professor of medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, says "I generally advise against drinking, but if your going to drink, drink red wine". Anderson's study included 1,741 people. The incidence of colorectal neoplasia, cancers and polyps that can become cancerous, was 9.9 percent in those that abstained from alcohol, 8.8 percent in those who drank three glasses or more of white wine a week and 3.4 percent in those that drank three glasses of red wine a week, a 68 percent reduction.

Whatever the cause of the protective effect, Anderson said he advises people against taking up the wine habit for health reasons.

On July 20 in Portland, Oregon, Pearl Jam held a benefit concert for the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) to raise awareness for a disease no one likes to discuss. Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis twenty years ago and has gone public with what he personally felt for many years was an embarrassing disease.

McCready, a spokesperson for the NW Chapter of CCFA, said, "Having struggled with Crohn's disease for more than 20 years and experienced first hand difficulties in getting a diagnosis and treatment, I want to help others learn about the disease, how it is affecting them and how to find ways to cope."

UCB, a leading global biopharmaceutical company that recently launched Crohns and Me, an information and resource website for people with Crohn's disease, joined with CCFA, in sponsoring the Pearl Jam Portland benefit concert.