It seems like cancer is in the news more than ever these days, and the health benefits of light alcohol consumption have been touted for years (even claims that alcohol improves brain health). However, new research indicates that even light alcohol consumption will increase your risk from cancer.
Scientists have known for a hundred years about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. A study from Paris in 1910 showed that 80 percent of patients with cancer of the esophagus or gastric track were alcoholics. More recently, scientists have found correlations between alcohol consumption and cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, large bowel, and even the breasts. Yet lab experiments have always failed to show the effects in animals that investigators knew to be true in humans.Until now.
It seems past studies used too much alcohol -- in concentrations of 20 percent -- and the animals just wasted away while showing no tumor growth. But when Gu used concentrations of one percent -- about one to two drinks per day in humans -- to study blood vessel growth, he detected stimulated tumor growth in both chick embryos and mice. ...
Gu's findings, now confirmed by other scientists, are evidence of what many have long suspected -- alcohol, even in moderation, increases cancer risk.
Therefore I'll continue my policy of teetotaling.
Life is hazardous to your health. There's no escaping it. You can abstain from all sorts of things; things that can cause health problems. I am reminded, though, of a very good Homer Simpson quote: "Geez, Flanders.. you're 60 years old and you haven't lived a day in your life!"
Always remember, correlation doesn't mean causation. Actually, I'm kind of surprised that you would buy into this, Michael. As you well know, in life there are no solutions, only trade-offs and the article really doesn't spell out what those trade-offs are. For example, suppose alcohol doubled you risk of getting cancer, if your normal risk is 1 in a 1000, now your risk is 1 in 500, still pretty low. Now what about the health benefits of light-moderate alcohol use? I believe it is still true that some alcoholic beverages (maybe all) lower the risk of heart disease (these things change so rapidly). So what you may be doing by not drinking is trading off a risk of cancer for an increased risk of heart disease or something else. You may be doing your self some good by abstaining from alcohol, but don't delude yourself into thinking that it is a cost free decision.