Roni Caryn Rabin reports for The New York Times on the increase in rates of colorectal and breast cancer and a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research that finds a possible link between these cancers and alcohol consumption. Drinking alcohol increases your likelihood of getting cancer.
Cancer rates are falling. But, more people are getting certain types of cancer for reasons yet unknown. Of note, 40 percent of cancer cases are linked to behaviors that can be changed.
The report urges people to drink less alcohol, stop smoking, eat a healthy diet, exercise, avoid ultraviolet radiation and stay away from pollutants. It recommends adding warning labels to alcohol products. Drinking alcohol affects the bacteria in your gut, which in turn can lead to cancer growing and spreading.
New data is showing that people who drink small amounts or in moderation do not reduce their risk of heart disease relative to people who drink occasionally. In fact moderate and light drinkers are more likely to die from cancer than occasional drinkers.
Put differently, it’s a myth that drinking red wine will help your heart. Whatever benefits you get from drinking red wine are outweighed by your risk of getting cancer.
More than one in 20 cancer (5.4 percent) diagnoses today are attributed to drinking alcohol. What types of cancer are you most likely to get from drinking alcohol? Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma as well as some types of head, neck, breast, colorectal, liver and stomach cancers.
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