Once people find out I’m a dietitian, they typically tell me that alcohol is good for them. This scenario often occurs at a bar, after their 2nd or 3rd glass of red wine. “It’s good for my heart!” they exclaim.
Sorry to burst your bubble however, a new study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that low to moderate alcohol consumption increases risk of certain types of cancers. Increasing alcohol consumption was associated with an increased risk of cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, rectum, liver, breast and total cancer. These trends were the same regardless of the type of alcohol consumed. That’s right, it doesn’t matter if you do consume red wine, your risk of these cancers will increase with just one drink per day.
Let me emphasize that this was no small study. It examined nearly 1.3 million British women. And, by further examining the data and relating it to cancer incidence in the U.S., the researchers found that about 11% of all breast cancers are related to low to moderate alcohol consumption and 5% of all cancers in females here result from low to moderate consumption.
Consider this beverage for thought. You may think “well, cancer doesn’t run in my family.” But, many cancers have no genetic component whatsoever (see www.cancer.gov for more information). And, alcohol is indeed empty calories with no nutrition value whatsoever. If you drink, don’t do so in moderation, do so on occasion….