Alcohol & Colorectal Cancer

by Diane Lofshult

Food for Thought:

Put that beer glass down if you want to decrease your risk of colon or rectal cancers, says a recent report in the International Journal of Cancer. The study researchers warn that drinking 2 pints of beer or 2 large glasses of wine each day increases the risk of these common cancers by about 25%, while quaffing half those amounts raises the risk by 10%.

As part of the ongoing European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition, 478,732 subjects were observed for an average of 6.2 years. After adjusting for other factors, the researchers found that “lifetime alcohol intake was significantly positively associated” with the risk of colorectal cancer. The risk was higher for beer drinkers than for wine drinkers.

Cancer experts say it is vital that consumers understand that they can reduce their risk for a number of different cancers, including bowel cancer, by simply cutting down on alcohol consumption. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), if alcohol is consumed at all, men are advised to have no more than 2 drinks a day and women no more than a single drink. “When it comes to alcohol and overall health, we know one thing for certain,” says AICR nutrition adviser Karen Collins, MS, RD. “More is not better.”