Cancer researchers in the United Kingdom have concluded that drinking as little as one glass of alcohol a day increases your risk of developing bowel cancer by about 10 percent. And, the more you drink, the more your risk of cancer increases.

The study included almost 480,000 people in the U.K., who were questioned about their level of alcohol intake, with follow-ups over the course of six years. In that period, 1,833 developed colon cancer.

The study showed that those who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol per day (less than two pints of strong lager) raised their cancer risk by about 25 percent.

According to Dr. Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer information, “While there is increasing evidence that over indulging in alcohol can increase the risk of some cancers, research also shows that by far the biggest risk for life threatening diseases is the combination of smoking together with drinking alcohol.”

BBC News July 30, 2007

International Journal of Cancer July 19, 2007

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

There is a lot of confusion over safe drinking levels. However, despite the fact that there are some studies touting “benefits” of drinking small amounts of alcohol, such as wine, I personally do not recommend drinking alcohol. There’s far too much evidence showing that alcohol is seriously detrimental to your health.

Alcohol is, in fact, a neurotoxin that can poison your brain. It can also cause serious disruption to your delicate hormone balance.

In addition to that, excessive drinking-- just like smoking -- may also be the cause of several other cancers, including:

• cancer of the mouth
• larynx
• esophagus
• liver
• colon
• breast
• pancreas, and
• lungs

A previous study on alcohol consumption and breast cancer, found that postmenopausal women who drink more than a half a glass of alcohol per day, and have low intakes of the B vitamin folate, are 60% more likely to develop breast cancer than those who do not drink alcohol and have the highest intake of folate. Does that mean you could just eat more vegetables (high in folate) and be safe? Not really.

Alcohol is broken down in the body into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which, by the way, is the chemical responsible for hangover symptoms. When acetaldehyde reacts with the neurotransmitter dopamine, it can cause mental and emotional disturbances such as anxiety, depression, and poor concentration. If you look up the toxicology of acetaldehyde, you find that it adversely affects many tissues and organs in the body, which may play a large part in increasing the risk of so many chronic diseases and cancers.

And, remember, wine does count as alcohol. Most of the benefits from drinking wine are largely related to the polyphenolic bioflavonoids found in the grape skins and seeds. It is not the alcohol or the carbohydrate content that is helpful.

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How Heart-Healthy is Alcohol?

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