It is common knowledge that excessive alcohol consumption is associated with numerous health problems, including liver disease and pancreatitis. But what about one glass a day? A new study reveals findings that may surprise you!
On February 25, 2009, the Ottawa Citizen printed the following article written by S. Kirkey: “No amount of drinking safe for women: cancer experts. One drink a day enough to increase risk of deadly diseases, study finds”
“From the massive “Million Women Study” in Britain comes sobering news: when it comes to a woman’s risk of cancer, no amount of alcohol is safe. Even a drink a day increases the risk of several common cancers, including breast, rectum and liver cancer. The risk increases for every additional drink, and the trend holds regardless of the type of alcohol consumed. “Even relatively low levels of drinking — drinking at levels we considered relatively safe for women — increases a woman’s risk of developing cancer,” says Naomi Allen, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study published this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”
“The study involved a total of 1,280,296 middle-aged women who attended breast-cancer screening clinics in Britain between 1996 and 2001. [ ] Women in the study who drank alcohol consumed, on average one drink per day; few drank three or more drinks per day. The drinkers were likely to be younger, leaner, more affluent and to exercise more frequently than non-drinkers. During an average seven years of followup, 68,775 women were diagnosed with invasive cancers. Even light to moderate drinking predicted a statistically significantly increased risk of rectum, liver and breast cancer. The researchers estimate that the equivalent of a glass of wine, or half pint of beer a day increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by 12 per cent. The risk of liver cancer increases 24 per cent with each daily drink, and the risk of cancer of the rectum by 10 per cent. Overall, “we estimate about five per cent of all cancer in women is due to moderate alcohol use,” Allen says. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that women who choose to drink should drink less than one drink per day (pregnant women should avoid alcohol). A drink is one 350-millilitre (12 oz.) bottle of beer, one 145-millilitre (5 oz.) glass of wine and one 45-millilitre (1.5 oz.) shot of spirits.”
“Women who drank and smoked had an increased risk mouth and throat, esophagus and larynx cancer. Alcohol drinking appeared to be associated with a reduced risk of certain other cancers, including thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and kidney cancer. But the highest excess risk was for breast cancer. The team estimates that alcohol accounts for about 11 per cent of all breast cancers in Britain, or 5,000 extra cases each year. Extrapolated to Canada, that would mean 2,464 extra breast cancer cases annually.”
In women, alcohol consumption is believed to be linked to elevated levels of estrogen, a risk factor for breast cancer. Alcohol is a pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant substance, causing damage to the body. It is more difficult to metabolize alcohol for women, as compared to men, hence it remains in their bloodstream for longer periods of time. The findings outlined in the study above are indeed sobering. It is surely to remain a hot topic for months to come.
Next time you raise a glass to say ‘Cheers’, consider swapping that gin and tonic for a juice and tonic. You’ll be doing a good deed for your health.