Cancer risk: Brits' favourite drink increases risk of getting cancer

One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. This staggering statistic from Cancer Research, UK shows that at least half of the population is highly likely to get one form of cancer. Although some risk factors such as family history and genetics cannot be helped, certain lifestyle choices can increase your risk of developing the disease.

Alcohol and cancer

Regardless of some benefits you can derive from some alcoholic beverages like red wine, scores of studies show that the all alcoholic drinks are linked with seven types of cancer, according to the CDC. Simply put, the more alcohol – beer, red and white wine as well as liquor – you drink, the greater your chances of developing cancer.

Here’s why:When you drink alcohol, your body breaks it down into a chemical called acetaldehyde which damages your DNA and prevents your body from repairing damage like it normally would.

DNA is the cell’s “instruction manual” that controls a cell’s normal growth and function. When DNA is damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and create a cancer tumour.

Less alcohol, lower risk

A new research published in Nature and led by a team from University of Oxford corroborated the role of alcohol in significantly increasing the risk of mouth, upper throat, laryngeal, oesophageal, breast, liver and bowel cancer, according to The Sun. The study also revealed that the risk is higher in people who don’t process alcohol too well.

Lead author and head of molecular and cellular medicine at Reading Professor Ketan Patel, said:

Our study highlights that not being able to process alcohol effectively can lead to an even higher risk of alcohol-related DNA damage and therefore certain cancers. But …alcohol can still cause cancer in different ways, even in people whose defence mechanisms are intact.

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