I found this information fascinating. I've posted most of the information from the quiz but I did leave out a few things which I didn't think people who weren't medically trained would understand. :-)
The studies from which this information was taken provides more evidence that the Lord's law of health, The Word of Wisdom, is more than just a commandment. Even when we don't fully understand Commandments, there are often unforeseen blessings associated with obedience to the Lord's commandments. This is just one small aspect of that. I'll bet most of the people who die from alcohol-related cancers don't realize that their drinking caused their cancer and subsequent death.
The statistics that jumped out at me most were the fact that up to 10% of breast cancer cases in the United States are attributable to alcohol consumption. That's a huge number. And nearly 6% of all cancer deaths are caused by alcohol consumption. And lastly the synergistic effect of alcohol and tobacco used simultaneously increases cancers by 14 times!
"According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate drinking is up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.[4] Heavy drinking, in most studies of alcohol and cancer, is defined as two or more drinks daily for women or three or more drinks daily for men."
"Up to 10% of cases of breast cancer in the United States are attributable to alcohol.[5]Evidence suggests that the risk is elevated for both hormone receptor-positive and hormone receptor-negative breast tumors and is stronger among women who start drinking before their first full-term pregnancy.[6] Breast cancer risk accumulates across a woman's lifetime; however, the most rapid accumulation occurs from menarche to first pregnancy.[5] Although the mechanisms of alcohol-related breast cancer are not fully understood, alcohol consumed during adolescence and early adulthood is believed to play a role in breast cancer development.[5] Therefore, breast cancer prevention efforts should not only target midlife and older women but should also include adolescent girls and young women.[5]"
"Reports of a connection between alcohol, smoking, and cancer of the oral cavity began appearing in the scientific literature in the 1950s-1960s.[7,8] During that period, no explanation for this connection was offered other than the fact that smoking and drinking are related behaviors. It is now believed that the combined exposure to alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking results in a supramultiplicative synergistic effect that enhances the risk for these neoplasms up to 14-fold among persons who both smoke and drink heavily.[9] Alcohol is believed to act as a solvent for carcinogens in cigarette smoke and render the mucosa more permeable to these carcinogens.[10]"
"At present, the type of alcoholic beverage is not believed to play a role in cancer risk, but more evidence is needed."
"Research on breast cancer and alcohol to date has not identified a level of alcohol consumption that is completely risk-free. The risk for breast cancer is linear and dose-dependent in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. In one recent study, for each 10-g/day increase in alcohol intake, the hazard ratio for breast cancer increased by 4.2% (95% confidence interval, 2.7%-5.8%).[6] Even a single daily drink, on average, raises breast cancer risk, regardless of smoking, lifestyle factors, or other exposures."-- Medscape.com, November 23, 2015, Quiz: The Alcohol-Cancer Connection, Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS.
The studies from which this information was taken provides more evidence that the Lord's law of health, The Word of Wisdom, is more than just a commandment. Even when we don't fully understand Commandments, there are often unforeseen blessings associated with obedience to the Lord's commandments. This is just one small aspect of that. I'll bet most of the people who die from alcohol-related cancers don't realize that their drinking caused their cancer and subsequent death.
The statistics that jumped out at me most were the fact that up to 10% of breast cancer cases in the United States are attributable to alcohol consumption. That's a huge number. And nearly 6% of all cancer deaths are caused by alcohol consumption. And lastly the synergistic effect of alcohol and tobacco used simultaneously increases cancers by 14 times!
Anyway here are the quotes from the article:
This quiz can be found on Medscape.com oncology section, November 23, 2015, Quiz: The Alcohol-Cancer Connection, Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS.
"Recent data indicate that the proportion of cancers attributable to alcohol worldwide has increased. In 2012, alcohol consumption caused 5.5% of all cases of cancer and 5.8% of all cancer deaths.[2] This increase is believed to be driven by increases in the overall prevalence of drinkers and in the amount of alcohol consumed, particularly by women."
"In 2010, the IARC reaffirmed its opinion that cancers of the upper digestive tract (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus) and liver are causally related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In addition, the evidence was considered sufficient to add colorectal cancer and cancer of the female breast to that list.[3]"
This quiz can be found on Medscape.com oncology section, November 23, 2015, Quiz: The Alcohol-Cancer Connection, Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS.
"Recent data indicate that the proportion of cancers attributable to alcohol worldwide has increased. In 2012, alcohol consumption caused 5.5% of all cases of cancer and 5.8% of all cancer deaths.[2] This increase is believed to be driven by increases in the overall prevalence of drinkers and in the amount of alcohol consumed, particularly by women."
"In 2010, the IARC reaffirmed its opinion that cancers of the upper digestive tract (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus) and liver are causally related to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. In addition, the evidence was considered sufficient to add colorectal cancer and cancer of the female breast to that list.[3]"
"According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, moderate drinking is up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.[4] Heavy drinking, in most studies of alcohol and cancer, is defined as two or more drinks daily for women or three or more drinks daily for men."
"Up to 10% of cases of breast cancer in the United States are attributable to alcohol.[5]Evidence suggests that the risk is elevated for both hormone receptor-positive and hormone receptor-negative breast tumors and is stronger among women who start drinking before their first full-term pregnancy.[6] Breast cancer risk accumulates across a woman's lifetime; however, the most rapid accumulation occurs from menarche to first pregnancy.[5] Although the mechanisms of alcohol-related breast cancer are not fully understood, alcohol consumed during adolescence and early adulthood is believed to play a role in breast cancer development.[5] Therefore, breast cancer prevention efforts should not only target midlife and older women but should also include adolescent girls and young women.[5]"
"Reports of a connection between alcohol, smoking, and cancer of the oral cavity began appearing in the scientific literature in the 1950s-1960s.[7,8] During that period, no explanation for this connection was offered other than the fact that smoking and drinking are related behaviors. It is now believed that the combined exposure to alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking results in a supramultiplicative synergistic effect that enhances the risk for these neoplasms up to 14-fold among persons who both smoke and drink heavily.[9] Alcohol is believed to act as a solvent for carcinogens in cigarette smoke and render the mucosa more permeable to these carcinogens.[10]"
"At present, the type of alcoholic beverage is not believed to play a role in cancer risk, but more evidence is needed."
"Research on breast cancer and alcohol to date has not identified a level of alcohol consumption that is completely risk-free. The risk for breast cancer is linear and dose-dependent in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. In one recent study, for each 10-g/day increase in alcohol intake, the hazard ratio for breast cancer increased by 4.2% (95% confidence interval, 2.7%-5.8%).[6] Even a single daily drink, on average, raises breast cancer risk, regardless of smoking, lifestyle factors, or other exposures."-- Medscape.com, November 23, 2015, Quiz: The Alcohol-Cancer Connection, Laura A. Stokowski, RN, MS.
The evidence is clear from this and other studies I've read that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. "Everything in moderation" certainly does not apply to alcohol consumption especially when it comes to cancer risk. No amount of alcohol is safe to consume. The worldly philosophy of "most people drink" only supports my philosophy that "most people are idiots". Just because most people are idiots doesn't mean you need to be idiotic too. I've never understood why people would deliberately impair themselves and knowingly harm their bodies. But then again, I'm not an idiot.
That's my two cents.
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