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If you’re a heavy, or even moderate drinker, it may be time at last to cut back.
According to a new study done on 136,000 adults over 30 years, even one or two drinks a day can be associated with an increased cancer risk in most people.
Of course, the bell tolls louder for women, who only need one drink per day to increase their risk of breast cancer. “Light” drinking for men is defined as up to two drinks per day instead of one, and this can be associated with increased risk of cancer in male smokers.
Men who don’t smoke weren’t at as much of a risk.
Yin Cao, the lead investigator of the study at Harvard’s school of public health, said that the association in male smokers is so strong that “men who have ever smoked should limit alcohol intake to below the recommended limit. Smoking and heavy alcohol consumption should both be avoided to prevent cancer.”
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Of course, there are different factors to be weighed here. For example, women should consider that though alcohol has a moderate chance of increasing their risk of breast cancer, it could also lower their risk for heart disease.
Male smokers should also consider their family’s history of alcohol and smoking-related cancers.
But the risk association is there, and it shouldn’t be ignored, especially with a study so big.
Of course, men who’ve never smoked didn’t have any significantly increased risk, but even women who didn’t smoke had an increased risk.
The moral of this story? Know your family history and your own, and limit your alcohol consumption accordingly.
