One Glass Of Wine Per Day Could Increase Risk Of Breast Cancer

Even though that it was previously claimed that a glass of wine a day is good for your health a study published in the British Medical Journal says that it may actually not be so healthy.  US researchers have proved that women who consume wine even in moderate amounts, such as one glass per day, have increased chances of developing breast cancer.

The study was led by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. They combined the data from two large US studies that contained data about 47.881 men and 88.084 women. Their health state was monitored for 30 years. They looked at cancer risk including liver, colorectal, breast, oral cavity, oesophagus, larynx and pharynx.

The researchers took into account other factors such as body mass index, age, ethnicity, family history of cancer, previous cancer screening, diet, physical exercise and smoking. The researchers defined moderate drinking as a single drink of 15 g of alcohol per day in the case of women and two drinks, meaning 30 g of alcohol for men. In the follow up period 19.269 women were diagnosed with cancer and 7.571 men.

The researchers observed that breast cancer was the most significant. Both men and women who were current smokers or who had a history of smoking had more chances of developing cancer compared to participants who had not smoked at all. People who have a family history of cancer should also be careful with drinking. Jurgen Rehm from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto recommends that such persons should reduce alcohol consumption below the recommended limit or even abstain.

The research offers further insight into the link between cancer and light to moderate drinking. Cxperts believe that the results reinforce the already known health message that people should limit their alcohol consumption and even have some alcohol free days. Even though there is no guaranteed safe level of drinking you can reduce the risks of harming your body by consuming alcohol amounts that are within the recommended daily limits.

Health information manager Sarah Williams from Cancer Research UK remarked:

Cutting down on alcohol helps reduce the risk of cancer, so try having more alcohol-free days each week or swapping every other drink for something soft on a night out.”

Image Source: allure.com