Alcohol Has Been Directly Linked To Seven Forms Of Cancer
This time, it's serious.
by Ellen Scott | Jul 30, 2016
You might want to put down your giant glass of wine while you read this. Maybe pause pre-drinks. Perhaps it's a good idea to put the rest of the piña coladas you made solely for your own consumption back in the fridge.
A new study has declared that alcohol is bad for us. No, really. This time it's serious. It's really, really bad for us. Much worse than we thought.
The study, published in Addiction, found that there's a direct link between the consumption of alcohol and seven types of cancer. And the really scary news? Even those who consider themselves light to moderate drinkers are at risk.
New analysis reveals strong evidence that alcohol is a direct cause of breast, liver, colon, esophagus, and other types of cancer. The evidence is strong enough to prove that it's not just a correlation, or something to do with the "type of person who drinks alcohol" happening to also be the "type of person who's more likely to be doing other things that cause cancer."
There's enough proof to officially declare that alcohol is a direct cause of these types of cancer. Which puts a bit of a dampener on our weekend drinking plans.
The researchers also note that there's growing evidence that alcohol can cause skin, prostate, and pancreatic cancer (but this hasn't yet been confirmed as conclusively as the other cancer types).
The highest risks are, of course, associated with heavy drinking, but the researchers do state that there's still a considerable risk for people who only drink now and then.
The researchers' advice? Start being a little more conscious of how much you're drinking. If you're consuming more alcohol than the recommended daily allowances, cut back. It's important.
This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.co.uk. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.