Even light drinking can cause cancer !


Do you know that Alcohol consumption can cause cancer ?!

Facts about the relationship between cancer and Alcohol


  1. 70 percent of Americans don't even know that alcohol is an important risk factor for cancer
  2. Don`t make stated health benefits of moderate drinking fool you, Even light drinking can be harmful and increase risk factors of cancer an stated by ASCO or American Society of Clinical Oncology based on 150 studies about the relationship between Alcohol and cancer!
  3. Alcohol can cause many types of cancer, oropharyngeal and larynx cancer, esophageal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
  4. about 5.5% of cancer around the world is directly related to alcohol consumption .
  5. Even low consumption of alcohol can increase cancer risks, but of course, greatest risks can be observed with heavy, long-term drinkers.
  6. Even 10 grams of alcohol daily can raise skin cancer risk
  7. Alcohol can trigger a gene related to breast cancer

How Alcohol cause cancer

Alcohol is broken down inside the gut and gut bacteria can convert it to big amounts of acetaldehyde which is a known cause of cancer. Acetaldehyde can cause a permanent damage to DNA, Human bodies have a defense mechanism, an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) which can break down Alcohol to acetates which body can use as an energy source but some people especially some Asian races don't have this enzyme or have it inactive because of genetic defects, those people might have 4 times higher risks of cancer .

Does alcohol type matter?

Alcohol is basically ethanol no matter what type of alcoholic drink you consume, beers, wines, liquors or any other alcoholic drink all have different percentages of ethanol.

12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor all have the same amount of ethanol, in general, the more amount and percentage of ethanol the more risk you have.


Alcohol and smoking doubles the risk

Alcohol can help other harmful chemicals, such as those found in tobacco smoke, to more easily penetrate the cells lining the upper gastrointestinal tract. This may explain why both smoking and drinking together is much more likely to increase cancer risks of the mouth or throat than smoking or drinking alone.

Effect on the absorption of folate or other nutrients

Alcohol can affect the body's ability to absorb certain nutrients, such as folate. Folate is an important vitamin that keeps cells healthy. The absorption of nutrients can worsen for heavy drinkers because they often have low levels of folic acid. This deficiency in some nutrients might increase the risk of certain types of cancers, like breast cancer or colorectal cancer.

sources
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/alcohol-and-cancer


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