By DR. RICHARD BELIVEAU
The impact of alcohol consumption on your health is a controversial subject.
On one hand, it has been clearly established that people who drink in moderation, which is considered to be one or two glasses per day for men and one for women, have a 30% less chance of being hit by cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, as well as vascular-cerebral diseases.
On the other hand, we also know even moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing certain cancers, particularly oral cancers and those of the digestive tract, the liver and breast.
The mechanisms involved to create these carcinogenic effects remain poorly understood, but many studies suggest they are linked to the alcohol's metabolic transformation into acetaldehyde, a sensitive molecule that can provoke genetic mutations in a person's DNA.
When a person drinks alcohol regularly over several years, the mutations caused by the presence of this molecule accumulates and can lead to the development of tumours. At first glance, these observations suggest an increased risk of cancer associated with alcohol consumptions overshadows potential health benefits associated with moderate drinking.
Meanwhile, several studies conducted in recent years indicate the type of alcohol consumed can have a significant impact on one's health.
This is illustrated by the results of a study conducted in Montreal by researchers from the Armand-Frappier Institute and from McGill University.
During the study, researchers examined the consumption habits of beer, wine and spirits amongst 3,600 men aged between 35 and 70 and compared these habits to the appearance of 13 types of cancer. They observed that those who drank one alcoholic drink per day had an increased risk of developing six primary types of cancer, including of the oesophagus, stomach, colon, liver, pancreas, lungs and prostate.
This increased risk is most prevalent amongst those who drank more than seven alcoholic drinks a day for several years (7% greater risk of developing cancer of the oesophagus). The study results also show this increased risk of cancer is only observed amongst those who drink beer or spirits, while those who drink wine seemed to be spared.
For example, while the regular consumption of beer increases the risk of oesophageal cancer 180%, drinking wine regular has no impact.
This difference is even more striking when it comes to liver cancer: The risk of developing this disease is 120% higher for those who drink beer regularly and 230% higher for spirits drinkers. The risk actually drops by 14% for regular wine drinkers.
