CHICAGO — You eat veggies, you exercise, you gave up cigarettes and you have a glass of red wine every day, all because you care about your health.
But one of these things is not like the others.
While your attention has been elsewhere, scientists have amassed persuasive evidence that drinking alcohol – any form of alcohol, even in moderate amounts – can pose a serious threat to your health.
Researchers have known for nearly 20 years that drinking alcoholic beverages can cause cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver.
But those diseases don’t get much publicity. This year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer added breast and colon cancer – two of the four major killer cancers – to the list of malignancies known to be fostered by alcohol.
The risk is “dose dependent,” meaning the more you drink, the higher the risk.
According to comprehensive reviews of the scientific evidence, people who average just over one drink a day increase their chances of developing colon cancer by about 15 percent. For those who consume about four drinks daily, the risk is 40 percent higher.
Women who have one to two drinks a day increase their breast cancer risk by 13 percent. With four drinks, the risk is 50 percent higher.
Last month, yet another study reinforced the fact that even a glass or two of wine a day increases breast cancer risk. Yes, even red wine.
Drinking small amounts of alcohol daily does reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes caused by blocked arteries by 10 percent to 15 percent.
“On the other hand, alcohol is detrimental for more than 60 diagnoses,” said Juergen Rehm, head of public health and regulatory policies at the Ontario Center for Addiction and Mental Health.
“That red wine stuff – how it was supposed to be protective – was hyped completely out of whack by the media,” Rehm said.
The good news, Rehm said, is that quitting seems to eventually reverse the added risk.
In a study last month in the International Journal of Cancer, Rehm and his colleagues showed that the risk of head-and-neck and esophageal cancer decreased significantly within 10 years of giving up booze and was the same as that for non-drinkers after 20 years.
Booze news a buzz kill
Studies have shown that drinking a small amount of alcohol each day can lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Last month, however, another study reinforced that even a daily glass or two of red wine – often touted for its health benefits – can increase the risks for certain types of cancer.
