Health Highlights | Excessive alcohol use
Key Takeaways:
- Research points out connection between excessive alcohol use and the increased risk of multiple cancers
- Switching from cocktails to mocktails has health benefits
- Excessive drinking can lead to poor sleep and malnutrition
- Some mocktails can have cancer-fighting health benefits
Approaching the new year, you may be considering things like Dry January or giving up alcohol entirely.
If you’re looking for more reasons to switch from cocktails to mocktails, the American Association for Cancer Research’s newest study may encourage you to embrace sobriety.
The AACR published its 2024 Cancer Progress Report, showcasing that excessive alcohol use increases an individual’s risk of developing six types of cancer. Certain types of head and neck cancers, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, breast, colorectal, liver, and stomach cancers were all listed.
The study goes on to say that in 2019, nearly five-and-a-half percent of cancers were attributed to alcohol consumption. The AACR’s research suggests that drinking less—or not at all—can decrease your risk of getting the mentioned cancers by eight percent and lessen the risk of all cancers by four percent.
Jeanna Rich is an oncology registered dietitian with OSF Cancer Support Services. She says part of the reason excessive alcohol can affect so many parts of the body is because alcohol touches tissue inside the body at most of these places.
"All alcohol contains ethanol, so one alcoholic beverage is not safer than the other because they all contain that ethanol component. That can essentially damage or oxidize healthy cells and create DNA damage. In regard to breast cancer, alcohol can actually increase the levels of estrogen in our body. It can lead to excessive calorie intake, which can lead to obesity."
Rich adds that excessive drinking can lead to poor sleep and malnutrition as well.