Does alcohol cause cancer?

The relationship between Alcohol and Cancer? The consumption of alcoholic beverages has been a common practice of human cultures for centuries. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies chemicals and agents according to their ability to cause cancer (carcinogenicity). This agency has classified that alcoholic drinks can cause certain types of cancers in humans. In addition, IARC has also classified ethanol (the main ingredient of alcoholic beverages) and cancer aldehyde as carcinogens for humans.

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Alcohol is made by a process called fermentation in which microbes such as yeasts react with sugars found in fruits and grains to form carbon dioxide and ethanol. Depending on the starting ingredients, ending with a specific type of alcoholic beverage or other, for example, wine and cider are made from fermenting grapes and other fruits, while beer and liquor are subject to a fermentation. Grains, herbs and other plants. Follow More post from my blog like becoming addicted to alcohol.
In addition to ethanol and water, and depending on the type of drink, it may contain other ingredients, including:

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  • Health benefits (eg flavonoids, resveratrol, etc.)
  • Health risk (eg nitrosamines in beer or metals such as lead in wine)

Although in general, the content or concentration of these other ingredients in alcoholic beverages is very low and is not considered harmful to health if you drink in moderation.

Alcohol and Cancer

Now, I’m going to talk to you about the health effects of alcoholic beverages. I will focus in particular on what we know about alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer in humans.

Cancers of the head and neck

There is consistent evidence that alcohol abuse is associated with an increased risk of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx. Evidence suggests that people who regularly consume 3-4 glasses of drinks a day (the equivalent of 50 grams of ethanol) are about three times more likely to get these cancers than non-drinkers.

In fact, one in three cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx can be avoided simply by not drinking too much alcohol. And that without taking into account the tobacco! Because for these cancers, the risk is multiplied by snuff (remember that smoking is also a major cause of cancer).

In addition, laryngeal cancers and squamous cell cancers are also associated with alcohol. These types of cancer increase in people who consume regularly 3 or 4 glasses of drinks per day, a risk 2 times higher than in non-drinkers.

Breast cancer

Women who consume regularly between 3 and 4 drinks a day (50 grams of ethanol) have a high risk of breast cancer about 50% higher than non-drinkers. And most importantly, the risk of breast cancer remains high (about 10%) in women who consume one or two glasses per day (between 18 and 50 grams of ethanol per day) compared to non-drinkers. It is the leading cause of breast cancer, so women are advised not to consume more than one alcoholic beverage per day. Although the best thing to avoid is not to drink at all.

Other cancers and health problems

In addition to the above-mentioned types of cancer, alcohol consumption has also been associated with liver cancer and colorectal cancer. There is also recent evidence that excessive consumption may increase the risk of cancer of the stomach and pancreas. I will remember that in addition to cancer, alcohol is a major cause of cirrhosis in chronic drinkers, not to mention the impact on health and social consequences of alcoholism and road accidents.

Finally, I would like to make a few comments about the usual weekend drunkards, in which some people can drink large amounts of alcohol for a short time (one to two nights) over and over, but do not drink during the week. This type of drinking is more common among young people.

Available data from studies of this type of behavior suggest that it may also have negative health consequences. Some studies in adults suggest that they may be associated with some of the cancers mentioned above, but there are still very few studies to draw definitive conclusions. In addition to cancer, weekend drunkenness can undoubtedly lead to serious injuries, falls, aggressive behavior and road accidents.

If you drink, how safe is it?

Although researchers have established links between alcohol consumption and certain types of cancer and other health and social problems, moderate alcohol consumption has been shown to be associated with a lower risk of disease. cardiovascular.

For moderate consumption, I mean:

No more than 1 drink a day for women and no more than 2 drinks a day for men.

Sounds reasonable, is not it? Although the best way to prevent cancer is to not drink alcohol at all … Although I know that the message about the risks and benefits of drinking can be a little confusing, the most important thing to remember that if you drink, do it in moderation.

I hope this helps you and remember: no one will take control of your health or save you!

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