Many people believe that having a few glasses of wine in moderation on a regular basis is fine and may even be good for your health.
But Uncle Dian recently saw that several authoritative studies have mentioned that there is never a “safe” limit to drinking alcohol: even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful to the body.
Source: Internet
“The Lancet”: If you don’t drink in moderation, 700,000 Chinese people die every year!
In August 2018, the world’s top medical journal “The Lancet” published an article that [1]: Drinking alcohol directly causes 28 million deaths worldwide each year, which is the seventh leading cause of death and disability in the world factor!
For people between the ages of 15 and 49, alcohol consumption is the number one killer of this age group globally.
“The safest amount of alcohol is 0, and no alcohol is good for your health!“
As soon as these words came out, the words shocked the world!
China is also the country with the most alcohol-related deaths in the world, with 700,000 people dying every year (650,000 men)!
▲ 2016 global alcohol-related deaths in men
Therefore, The Lancet concludes: There is no “moderate amount” of drinking, and the healthiest thing to do is — don’t drink a drop!
Although the words are very clear, compared with “smoking is harmful to health”, the harm of drinking to ordinary people is still unclear.
We all know that smoking has the risk of cancer, but the harm of moderate alcohol consumption is often selectively ignored.
A bottle of wine a week is equivalent to smoking 5-10 cigarettes
In order to explain the harm of alcohol more intuitively, a study from the UK has estimated the “cigarette equivalent” of alcohol in terms of cancer risk for the first time. The latest research results were published on March 28, 2019. BMC Public Health” [2].
In terms of pure cancer risk, how many cigarettes are in a bottle of wine?
The researchers used wine as a measure. A bottle of wine contains about 80g of pure alcohol. Based on one bottle of wine per week, the strength of the association between alcohol and cancer risk is equivalent to that of men smoking 5 cigarettes. Cigarettes and the effects of smoking 10 cigarettes in women.
▲10 cigarettes per week (non-drinkers) or a bottle of red wine ( non-smokers)
Comparison of absolute lifetime risk of cancer attributable to
Graph
So, seeing this, Uncle Dian wants to say that the harm caused by drinking to the body is far beyond your imagination.
A sip of wine actually brings 7 types of cancer, the longer you drink, the closer you are to cancer
In cancer, studies[3] have also shown that heavy alcohol consumption is associated with cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, breast, and colorectum7 associated with the risk of cancer.
The U.S. Department of Health’s report on carcinogens identifies alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen. Research evidence shows that the more a person drinks, especially long-term, regular drinking, the higher the risk of developing alcohol-related cancers. Currently, alcohol consumption has been shown to be associated with the followingThe formation and development of cancer types have a causal relationship:
1. Head and neck cancers (oral cancer, pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer): Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for some head and neck cancers, especially oral cancer (excluding lip cancer), pharyngeal cancer and laryngeal cancer.
If a person drinks more than 50 grams of alcohol per day, the risk of developing cancer increases by at least 2-3 times.
In addition, people who drink heavily while also smoking have a higher risk of developing cancer.
2. Esophageal cancer: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for a certain type of esophageal cancer (esophageal squamous cell carcinoma). In addition, people with genetic defects in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes have a significantly increased risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
3. Liver cancer: Alcohol consumption is an independent risk factor for liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) and the main cause of liver cancer.
4. Breast cancer: Hundreds of epidemiological studies have confirmed the relationship between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk in women.
A meta-analysis of 58,000 women with breast cancer from a total of 53 studies showed that women who drank more than 45 grams of alcohol per day had a 1.5 times higher risk of breast cancer than non-drinkers.
5. Colorectal Cancer: Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. A meta-analysis found that people who drink more than 50 grams of alcohol a day have a 1.5-fold increased risk of colorectal cancer. People who drank 10 grams of alcohol a day also had a small (7%) increased risk of colorectal cancer.
In addition to so many cancers, drinking alcohol will also bring great harm to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular!
For every 40g increase in alcohol consumption, the risk of stroke increases by 35%
Recently, The Lancet published another study that further pointed out the huge harm of drinking!
On April 4, 2019, a research paper co-authored by Peking University, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Oxford University was published in The Lancet[4], covering more than 500,000 people in China In adults, a 10-year follow-up study found: As alcohol consumption increases, blood pressure levels and stroke risk continue to increase!
Source: The Lancet
The study recruited 512,715 adults from 10 regions in China between 2004 and 2008, recorded their alcohol intake, and followed them for up to 10 years. Conclusions: In this study population, blood pressure levels and stroke risk continued to increase with increasing alcohol consumption.
For example, for every 40g increase in average daily alcohol consumption, the risk of stroke increases by 35%. 8% of ischemic strokes and 16% of hemorrhagic strokes could be prevented if the current male population did not drink alcohol.
Wine: If you can’t drink it, don’t drink it, if you can’t, drink less!
Although everyone knows the danger of drinking, there are very few people who can truly avoid drinking, at least not around Uncle Dian.
If drinking is a must in life, the “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2016” also gives a limit recommendation, that is:
Adult men drink no more than 25 grams a day
Adult women drink no more than 15 grams a day.
Dietary Guidelines, this is a health suggestion based on the actual life of Chinese people. In the case where drinking is absolutely necessary, referring to the previous research data on the impact of daily alcohol on human health, put the highest Limit alcohol to no more than 25 grams.
But if you want to have no impact on your health, of course, it is best not to drink alcohol!
Wine: If you want to drink it, how can you reduce the damage to your body?
1. Don’t be greedy
As mentioned earlier, the “Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents” (2016) recommends that men drink no more than 25 grams a day, and women no more than 15 grams, otherwise it is excessive drinking. What is the concept of 25 grams of alcohol? The approximate conversion is as follows:
Beer: no more than one can (25g) at a time
Wine: Limit to about one glass (25g) at a time
Liquor: no more than half a small glass (25g) at a time
2. Don’t be greedy
In the same amount, the damage to the liver and other organs of high alcohol is greater than that of low alcohol. So don’t be greedy when drinking, and try to choose a drink with a lower alcohol concentration.
3. Do not drink on an empty stomach
It is best to padded your stomach before drinking, as a half-full state can slow down the absorption of alcohol into the intestines. For example, eat staple food, meat, yogurt, milk, etc.
If you drink alcohol on an empty stomach, the alcohol will be absorbed very quickly, entering the bloodstream in about five minutes. When the alcohol content in 100 ml of blood is between 200 and 400 mg, the metabolism of the liver will be “overwhelmed”, and it is easy to hurt the body.
4. Do not mix drinks
Various brands, strengths, and categories of alcohol vary in composition and content, and mixing may cause certain reactions. In addition, beer has a high water content, and drinking it together with liquor will accelerate the absorption of alcohol.
Finally, what Uncle Dian wants to remind is that drinking should be “slightly thoughtful”, and “one mouthful” drinking is particularly harmful to the body, and will increase the burden of alcohol on the organs in a short time. .
Source: Internet
END
References
1. Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016[J].The Lancet. 2018.
2. Theresa J. Hydes, et al, A comparison of gender-linked population cancer risks between alcohol and tobacco: how many cigarettes are there in a bottle of wine?. BMC Public Health. 2019 doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6576-9.
3. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Alcohol and Cancer Risk [DB/OL]. https:https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk /alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet,2013-06-24/2018-07-16.
4. Conventional and genetic evidence on alcohol and vascular disease aetiology: a prospective study of 500 000 men and women in China. The Lancet. April 4, 2019.
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge. It cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician. It is for reference only.
*The copyright of this article belongs to Tencent Medical Dictionary. Unauthorized reprinting by media is prohibited. Illegal reprinting will be investigated for legal responsibility according to law. Individuals are welcome to forward to the circle of friends.
*Welcome to search on WeChat and pay attention to the public account “Tencent Medical Code” to get more knowledge about health science.