And Moderate Drinking Turns Out To Be Dangerous

Author: Victoria Aly Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

And Moderate Drinking Turns Out To Be Dangerous

CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)

Is Alcohol To Blame For Cancer?

Scientists signal that even low or moderate drinking of low alcohol is dangerous to health

A beer or a glass of wine is a pleasant and relaxing way to send off another busy day. But a team of researchers from the University of Victoria has published a new study that shows that even people who drink moderately may have an increased risk of developing cancer and death than those who abstain completely from alcohol.

But is alcohol to blame for these poor health outcomes? Some health experts say that the study in question in Canada did not take into account other risk factors and therefore no convincing summaries could be made.

The Canadian government's recommendations for low-risk drinking state that men should consume no more than 15 drinks per week, while women should be limited to a maximum of 10 drinks per week. The recommendations are more generous than those in the United States, which encourage men to avoid more than two drinks a day and women to stick to only one.

Another study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs , looked at data from records of all hospitalizations experienced by residents of British Columbia in 2014 and calculated the number of deaths and illnesses associated with alcohol use. . The team compared data from the first study with data from the Canadian database to assess alcohol use levels and patterns by age and gender. He then applies them to the hospitalization records.

Thus, people in the study were divided into four groups: abstainers (9%), people who drank but did not drink alcohol for at least a year (14%), people who drank within the general guidelines of low risk (65%) and people who drink above the recommendations for the week (12%).

After analyzing the two data sets with mathematical formulas, the researchers concluded that alcohol caused more than 2,000 deaths, 38% of which occurred in people who gave up alcohol.

A curious fact from the study is that more than half of deaths due to cancer are in people who have traditionally consumed moderate alcohol.

Is alcohol to blame for cancer?

There is no doubt that drinking alcohol increases the risk of certain cancers, including cancer of the larynx, esophagus and colon. However, the report does not take into account another major risk factor for cancer - smoking.

It has been found that between 80 and 90% of alcohol abusers are also smokers. So how do we know that alcohol is a major cause of cancer, not smoking, genetics, or a family history?

There is no answer yet. That is why doctors have mixed feelings about the scientists' recommendation to change the guidelines for alcohol use. Many studies show that alcohol has severe adverse health effects, but there are many studies that say the opposite. For example, that a glass of red wine can reduce the risk of heart disease.

And Moderate Drinking Turns Out To Be Dangerous

CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)

Is alcohol to blame for cancer?

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