Posted on 07/30/2007 3:38:02 PM PDT by blam
One drink a day increases risk of bowel cancer
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 8:40pm BST 30/07/2007
Drinking just one pint of beer or a large glass of wine every day increases your risk of developing bowel cancer by 10 per cent, experts said today.
Every year 35,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer
Those who drink three to four units a day increased their risk of developing bowel cancer by up to a quarter, research has found.
The study conducted by Cancer Research UK and involving nearly 500,000 people, adds to evidence that drinking alcohol is linked to certain cancers. Other studies have linked binge drinking to breast cancer.
Almost 480,000 people in ten European countries were asked questions about how much alcohol they drank and were followed up for six years. In that period 1,833 people developed bowel cancer.
The lifetime risk for bowel cancer in men is one in 20; in women it is one in 18. Every year 35,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer and it kills 16,100 annually.
Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK epidemiologist and deputy director of the cancer epidemiology unit in Oxford, said: "The research shows quite clearly that the more alcohol you drink the greater your risk of bowel cancer.
"The increase in risk is not large but it is important that people understand they can reduce their risk of a number of different cancers – including bowel cancer - by cutting down on alcohol."
The study is published today in the International Journal of Cancer. Current guidelines recommend women drink no more than two units daily and men no more than three.
Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer information, said: "There is a lot of confusion over safe levels of drinking. This partly arises over the increasing strength of some wines and beers and the fact that many pubs offer a large glass of wine that is actually equivalent to one third of a bottle.
"It is important that people do not automatically equate one drink with one unit. A large glass of wine with a high alcohol volume is likely to be the equivalent of considerably more than that.
"While there is increasing evidence that over indulging in alcohol can increase the risk of some cancers research also shows that by far the biggest risk for life threatening diseases is the combination of smoking together with drinking alcohol."
One unit = half a pint of 3.5 per cent beer, lager or cider, one small glass (125ml) of wine at nine per cent alcohol. Average strength of beers is five per cent and average strength of wine is 12.5 per cent meaning one unit will be a smaller measure.
Other researchers have said drinking small amounts of alcohol such as red wine can protect against heart disease.
stole my words roflmao
Listening to stuff like this crap increases the risk of losing ones sanity.
Oh for cryin’ out loud. Every month or so they have some kind of fear/uncertainty/doubt about common foodstuffs, and it is almost always revealed as hype or faulty reasoning.
Do what your gramma told ya — eat yer greens, have berries for dessert, stop after you’re full, don’t eat all that packaged junk. Then take a walk after dinner to “shake things down”.
Common sense people. Please use it...
Oh for cryin’ out loud. Every month or so they have some kind of fear/uncertainty/doubt about common foodstuffs, and it is almost always revealed as hype or faulty reasoning.
Do what your gramma told ya — eat yer greens, have berries for dessert, stop after you’re full, don’t eat all that packaged junk. Then take a walk after dinner to “shake things down”.
Common sense people. Please use it...
You can drown in 2 “ of water in your bath tub//
Solution: drink at least two?
-PJ
Good - I see it's approaching Happy Hour in St. Louis. Close enough for me...
Living for one more day increases your risk of death.
All of these "studies" and "statistics" are annoying and
in the end ridiculous.
good thing I dont drink pints, I drink from a can!
’ “Drinking just one pint of beer or a large glass of wine every day increases your risk of developing bowel cancer by 10 per cent, experts said today.” ‘
’ “Solution: drink at least two?” ‘
What about a liter a day?
I’ll drink to that.
Agreed. Let me add: and post only once!
Go for the beer and get scoped at 50 and listen to your GI doc after that.
Colon cancer is completely preventable if caught in the polyp stage, ergo screening colonoscopy is recommended at 50. Perhaps in the UK/NHS they don’t want to pay for colon cancer screening and want to spook folks about the ocasional beer. I aint gonna worry about this one.
Meanwhile, there was a report over the weekend that men drinking one glass of red wine per day have a 52% reduction in prostate cancer!
(Keels over dead from bowel cancer)
Proving yet again that the best thing to do with these research studies is to use the paper they're printed on as a coaster for your drink. ;)
Uh oh, another report that will in time say we should drink more because our bidies will turn into those of 18 year olds.
(Keels over dead from bowel cancer)
Uhhh, then can we have the rest of your beer? ;)
The more of this junk I hear, the more I am convinced that “Medical Science” is a clueless as the local weather forecasters....
The weatherman we sometimes watch is wrong, as many I am sure, far more often than not... so now the idea is to give a vague “maybe it will, maybe it won’t” forecast and then they can cop-out.
For several years we have been hearing that moderate alcohol consumption - particularly red wines, is good for us, helps the heart, prolongs life.
Now we hear that the same-said suggestion now can increase your chances of bowel cancer?
Either EVERYTHING on the FACE OF THE EARTH is bad for us/causes cancer/causes heart disease, or medical science just guesses. I am beginning to think the latter...
Another example are medications that go through years and years of clinical trials, then more trials by the FDA, some of which have already been tested and in use in other countries for many years - and then after being in use, we find out that they may cause all sorts of problems...
I guess that is why it is called “practicing” medicine.
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