How drinking alcohol can affect your health

With the brand new 12 months, dry January comes, and a brand new surgeon general consulting in the sphere of alcohol and cancer.

Moderate drinking It was once thought that it brought advantages to the center, but higher research methods threw cold water at it.

“Drinking less is a great way to be healthier,” said Dr. Timothy Naimi, who manages the Canadian Institute of Research on the use of drugs on the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

On Friday, US surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murty He called for the update of the present warning label General for drinks containing alcohol to take note of the chance of cancer. His proposal would require confirmation by Congress.

What is the pity in drinking alcohol?

Drinking raises Risk of several sorts of cancerIn this colon, liver, breasts and lips and throat. Alcohol breaks down within the body right into a substance called aldehyde aldehyde, which can damage the cells and stop them from repair. This creates conditions of growing cancer.

Thousands of deaths within the USA per 12 months can be prevented If people followed government dietary guidelines, he said Naimi.

These guidelines advise men to limit themselves to 2 drinks or less a day, and girls to at least one drink or less a day. One drink is the equivalent of about 12 ounces of a can of beer, a 5-inch glass of wine or alcohol shot.

According to Murthy’s advice, there are about 100,000 cases of alcohol cancer and about 20,000 deaths attributable to alcohol -related cancer per 12 months within the United States.

“When wondering if drinking, remember that less is better when it comes to the risk of cancer,” Murty wrote on Friday on the social media platform X.

What about moderate drinking?

This concept that moderate drinking brings health advantages from imperfect research comparing groups of individuals in line with how much they drink. This was often measured in some unspecified time in the future. And not one of the research randomly assigned people to drink or not, so that they couldn’t prove the cause and effect.

People who report moderately drinking have the next level of education, higher income and higher access to healthcare, said Naimi.

“It turns out that when you adapt to these things, the benefits disappear,” he said.

Another problem: many of the research didn’t include younger people. Almost half of the dying people due to alcohol -related causes die before the age of fifty.

“If you study people who survived in middle -aged, did not stop drinking because of the problem and did not become heavy drinking, this is a very chosen group,” he said Naimi. “This creates a benefit for moderate drinkers, which is actually a statistical illusion.”

Other studies undermine the concept alcohol has advantages. These studies are compared by individuals with a gene variant, which makes drinking in people and not using a gene variant unpleasant. People with a variant often drink little or no or in no way. One of those studies People with a gene variant were found have a lower risk of heart disease – one other blow to the concept alcohol protects people from heart problems.

What do the rules say?

The guidelines differ significantly depending on the country, but the general trend is to drink.

Great Britain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia have recently reviewed latest evidence and reduced the recommendations for alcohol consumption. Ireland would require alcohol warning labels from 2026.

“The scientific consensus has changed due to the overwhelming evidence combining alcohol with over 200 health conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and injuries,” said Carina Ferreira-Borges, a regional alcohol advisor on the Regional Office of the Regional Health Organization in Europe.

Naimi sat on the advisory committee that desired to lower American recommendations for men One drink a day. This advice was considered and rejected when Federal recommendations He left in 2020.

“A simple message that has best supported the evidence is that if you drink, less is better when it comes to health,” Naimi said.