An alarming new study has revealed that even those who are light to moderate drinkers have an increased risk of cancer -- and here's why.
A massive new study of drinkers has found that even those who don’t drink that much at all are at an increased risk to come down with cancer.
If you’re a woman who has one drink per day or you’re a man who has two drinks per day, your risk of cancer has been raised by a significant margin, according to a BBC report.
The study, which was published in the British Medical Journal, examined two large studies that were performed in the United States that involved more than 100,000 adults, and they found a link between drinking alcohol and cancer, most notably breast cancer.
The findings indicate that people who aren’t heavy drinkers shouldn’t think they’re necessarily safe, and that it’s important to limit drinking and have at least some days that are alcohol free.
While there is no safe level for drinking, if you stay within the recommended limits, you have a very low risk of causing harm to yourself, and may enjoy health benefits depending on what you’re drinking — red wine tends to offer some health benefits for those who don’t drink it in excess.
The study found that alcohol is most closely linked to mouth, bowel, liver, and throat cancer, in addition to breast cancer. If you smoke as well, that only increases the cancer risk. However, it doesn’t appear to matter what type of alcohol you drink in terms of cancer risk.
Experts recommend that men drink no more than three to four units of alcohol per day, which comes out to about two cans of beer. For women, it’s two to three units, which could come out to about two small glasses of wine.
Light to moderate drinking is defined as up to 15g of alcohol, would would be equivalent to a small glass of wine. It’s double that figure for men.
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