A DRINK A DAY?
New study links alcohol to cancer

For the past several years the media has enjoyed encouraging that 'drink a day' in order to fight heart disease. Now a new study shows a strong link between even moderate alcohol consumption and cancer risk:

A new study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-aged British women -- the largest ever to examine alcohol and cancer in women -- found that just one glass of chardonnay, a single beer or any other type of alcoholic drink per day increases the risk of a variety of cancers....

Even among women who consumed as little as 10 grams of alcohol a day on average -- the equivalent of about one drink -- the risk for cancer of the breast, liver and rectum was elevated, the researchers found...

In any group of 1,000 U.S. women up to age 75 who consumed an average of one drink a day, the researchers calculated, there would be 15 extra cancers; two drinks per day would result in 30 extra cancers, and so forth.

The risk appeared the same regardless of whether women drank wine, beer or any other type of alcohol. Allen noted that even less than one drink per day may increase the risk.

"There doesn't seem to be a threshold at which alcohol consumption is safe," she said.

Yet, as noted above, that's certainly not the message that people have been getting:

"I thought drinking wine was good for you," said Mirella Romansini, 27, of Chevy Chase, outside Paul's liquor store in Northwest Washington. "Now they are saying it increases your risk for cancer? Yes, I would say I'm surprised."

That's because she's been told in media story after media story that it is good for you. And the reality is, cancer is probably the least of your worries with increased alcohol consumption.

Want the health benefits of wine with none of the risk? Then stick with the grape juice.

EVEN MODERATE DRINKING INCREASES BREAST CANCER RISK

A new study has found that women who drink, even in light to moderate amounts, increase their risk of breast cancer significantly:

Women who had less than one drink per day were found to have a 7 percent increased risk of breast cancer compared with those who didn't drink. Those who drank one to two drinks had a 32 percent greater risk; those who drank three or more drinks had up to a 51 percent increased risk. A woman's risk was similar whether she drank beer, wine, or spirits, researchers reported.

This strikes a strong blow to the movement in recent years to promote drinking alcohol, particularly red wine, because of its health benefits. While the health benefits may be real, the risks far outweight any benefit. And as we've discussed here before, drinking grape juice gives one the same heart benefits as drinking red wine without the dangers of alcohol consumption.