Alcohol and Cancer

Many of us will enjoy a class of wine (or two)  as a way of relaxing and research has pointed to the benefits of moderate drinking especially with red wine. However, recent research has indicated a potential risk to middle-aged women with breast cancer even if they keep within the recommended units. This is 14 units a week for women and 21 for men. It seems that women who drink one glass of wine a day could double their risk of a common type of breast cancer. Research a couple of years ago indicated that drinking two large glasses 250ml of wine a day  could raise breast cancer risk by more than a half. My opinion is that although some alcohol is healthy, alcohol is also a  toxin so should not be drunk everyday. I would suggest 3-4 days a week without any alcohol allowing organs to ‘recover.’ There is also strong evidence linking alcohol to increased risk of bowel, liver, mouth, pharynx, larynx and oesophageal cancers. As I appreciate that this topic can worry many people, I would also point out that although cancers can have a family history link this is often confused with genetics. As cancer rates have increased it has become more likely that someone in  your family has had cancer. This does not mean that genetics are not important but the genes have to be expressed or turned on often by something in our lifestyle or environment. Indeed, the environment usually  becomes inherited and there is much we can do to reduce the risk from many cancers. These involve eating well, taking regular exercise, keeping our weight under control, avoid smoking and of course watch our levels of alcohol.

Kevin-  6th September