Large Glasses Of Wine Carry Cancer Risk

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 30th 2008 at 10:02AM

A glass of wine every day is supposed to reduce heart disease but it may also be hurting your liver. The World Cancer Research Fund in Britain says that a pint of beer or large glass of wine every day increases the risk of liver and bowel cancer by 20%. It's alarming news in Britain where as the Telegraph reports, the NHS released figures showing that middle class people over the age of 45 are the most frequent drinkers in Britain, consuming alcohol on five or more nights a week. This follows a report from the National Audit Office earlier this year which said that 10 million people in the country were drinking to "hazardous'' levels. It is believed that the alcohol damages a person's DNA, making them susceptible to the risk of cancer and even a relatively small amount can make a big difference. There is also evidence that drinking alcohol also increased the risk of breast cancer and cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx and esophagus. The World Cancer Research Fund hasn't advised avoiding alcohol but it did say that the limit per day should be two drinks for a man and one for a woman (one drink is the equivalent of half a pint of beer, less than an ounce of vodka or a little more than four ounces of wine). I'm beginning to pine for the days when a glass of wine was considered to be a healthy indulgence and articles were filled with talk of wine's polyphenols and antioxidants.

Tags: cancer, health, wine