The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has released its 2024 Cancer Growth Report.1 This shows the significant relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. While many are aware of the harmful effects of alcohol on liver health, its role in the development of cancer is less well known.
However, according to the report In 2019, 5.4% of all cancer cases in the US were caused by alcohol consumption.2 Some experts believe that these statistics may underestimate the true harm alcohol does to cancer. Alcohol can contribute to 1 in 3 cancers – and even this estimate may be low.
Six cancers closely related to alcohol
Moderate alcohol consumption, once thought to be harmless or beneficial, is now known to harm health without any safe consumption of alcohol. The AACR report emphasizes the need for increased awareness and action to prevent this preventable risk factor.
However, 51% of Americans do not know that drinking alcohol increases their risk of certain types of cancer.3 The AACR report identifies six types of cancer directly linked to excessive alcohol consumption:4
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Liver cancer |
Breast cancer |
Colorectal cancer |
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Esophageal cancer |
Stomach cancer |
Head and neck cancers |
The good news is that reducing or eliminating your alcohol consumption has a significant positive effect on your cancer risk. According to the AACR, individuals who reduce or stop drinking alcohol reduce their risk of developing alcohol-related cancers by 8 percent.
This reduction in alcohol consumption was associated with a 4% reduction in all types of cancer compared to those who maintained or increased alcohol consumption.5
A new study tests the benefits of light drinking
A recent study from the UK Biobank Group adds to the growing body of evidence that even moderate to light drinking increases the risk of cancer.6 The study, which involved 135,103 older adults, found that even small amounts of alcohol increased cancer mortality, particularly in individuals with underlying health or socioeconomic conditions.
This finding contrasts with previous studies that reported moderate alcohol consumption to prevent cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. The difference may be due to the improved methodology in this study, which avoids selection biases that have plagued previous research and uses occasional drinkers as a reference group with lifetime suspensions.
In this study, drinking patterns were classified based on daily alcohol consumption. Occasional drinkers are defined as consuming 2.86 grams or less of alcohol per day, which is about 1.4 drinks or less per week. High-risk drinkers were men consuming more than 2.86 but no more than 20 grams per day (one to 10 drinks per week) and women consuming more than 2.86 but no more than 10 grams per day (one to five drinks per week).
Moderate-risk drinkers include men who consume 20 to 40 grams per day (10 to 20 drinks per week) and women who consume 10 to 20 grams per day (five to 10 drinks per week).
High-risk drinkers were classified as men consuming more than 40 grams per day (more than 20 drinks per week) and women consuming more than 20 grams per day (more than 10 drinks per week). For reference, a standard US drink contains 14 grams of pure alcohol.
Compared with occasional drinkers, low-risk drinkers had higher risks of cancer death, moderate-risk drinkers had higher risks of all-cause and all-cause cancer death, and high-risk drinkers had higher risks of all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease death categories.7
Your socioeconomic status and overall health play a role in how alcohol affects your risk of death. The negative effects of alcohol consumption are more pronounced due to health-related and socioeconomic risks. Among these groups, even high-risk drinkers showed high death rates, particularly from cancer.
Alcohol’s destructive pathway in your mouth and throat
As you drink, the ethanol in alcoholic beverages breaks down into acetaldehyde, a highly volatile compound. This process begins in your mouth, where bacteria and yeasts in your normal oral flora convert alcohol into acetaldehyde. The longer ethanol stays in your body, the more acetaldehyde accumulates in your saliva.8
Within 20 to 40 minutes of drinking diluted vodka, levels of mutagenic acetaldehyde can be reached. This buildup of carcinogens puts the delicate tissues in your mouth at greater risk for DNA damage and cellular changes that lead to tumor formation.
For this reason, alcohol is one of the main risk factors for oral cancer, and the risk increases when combined with tobacco.9 The ethanol in alcoholic beverages acts as a solvent, enhancing the penetration of tobacco-based carcinogens into the oral cavity. Also, alcohol dries out cell membranes, making it easier for harmful substances to pass through. Alcohol interferes with DNA repair mechanisms.
Esophageal cancer shows a relationship with alcohol consumption. A study published in Epidemiology found that alcohol consumption was associated with a 3.44 times higher risk of developing throat cancer after controlling for genetic variants.10
In your throat, where the tissue is especially vulnerable, acetaldehyde-induced DNA damage can lead to mutations and eventually cancer. The study also found that increasing the risk of biliary tract cancer, alcohol consumption was 3.86 times higher.
Alcohol affects your hormone balance and gut health.
Another subtle concern of alcohol is its effect on your hormones, specifically the balance between testosterone and estrogen. Alcohol increases the conversion of testosterone to estrogen.11 It has different negative effects on men and women. Estrogens They are one of the main factors that increase the risk of cancer.
Alcohol increases cancer risk by other mechanisms, including acetaldehyde toxicity, inflammation, leaky gut, and weakened immune function. Drinking alcohol disrupts sleep, which means you don’t get restful sleep when you drink, which is another cancer risk.
Alcohol consumption negatively affects your gut microbiome and the gut-liver-brain axis, a bidirectional communication network that connects three critical systems in your body. Alcohol’s antimicrobial properties, which make sterilization effective, also indiscriminately kill beneficial intestinal bacteria.
For example, drinking alcohol reduces the beneficial bacteria species Ackermansia muciniphila naturally found in the human gut.12 This is also associated with “deregulation of microbial metabolite production, intestinal permeability disorders, chronic inflammation and increased cytokine production.”13
How alcohol affects your body
To understand the impact of the whole Alcohol on your healthIt is important to understand the complex processes that occur in your body when you use it in your body. Alcohol metabolism is an energy-intensive process that depletes your body of essential nutrients and compounds. This high energy demand puts a lot of strain on your system, affecting various aspects of your health.
This metabolic process also produces harmful products, acetaldehyde is a good example. This toxic compound damages your cells, not only directly, but also disrupts the entire physiological balance of your body.
The effects of alcohol consumption extend to your endocrine system, throwing your hormones and blood sugar out of balance. These disruptions manifest as mood swings and erratic energy levels, and pave the way for chronic health conditions such as diabetes and thyroid disorders.
Additionally, your liver, which plays a crucial role in eliminating harmful substances, can become overburdened. When your liver’s efficiency is impaired, its ability to process other toxins is reduced, causing harmful substances to accumulate in your body.
Alcohol’s effects are not limited to your internal organs; It also affects your digestive system. By damaging the lining of your gut and disrupting the balance of your microbiome—the ecosystem of microorganisms that inhabit your digestive system—alcohol impairs digestive health and immune function.
This disruption can cause a variety of issues, from immediate digestive problems to increased susceptibility to infection and long-term health problems.
In fact, drinking alcohol is similar to eating too much omega-6 fats. Linoleic acidIn terms of the harmful compounds they produce. When metabolized, these substances produce oxidized linoleic metabolites known as OXLAMs.
The common thread between these molecules is their nature as reactive aldehydes. Alcohol is converted to a reactive aldehyde called acetaldehyde as mentioned. These reactive aldehydes wreak havoc on your body, damaging your mitochondria – the powerhouses of your cells – and accelerating the aging process at the cellular level.
Alcohol impairs your mitochondrial function.
I used to drink alcoholic beverages in the past, but that changed after delving into the research on alcohol health. Armed with this knowledge, I decided to abstain completely. I urge you to take a deep look at your own drinking habits – dive into the scientific literature yourself. Weigh the temporary pleasure of drinking against the scientifically proven damage it can do to your system.
The most effective way to prevent the negative effects of alcohol is to avoid drinking it altogether. However, if you plan to drink alcohol, take it N-acetylcysteine (NAC) Supplements are already used as a preventive measure. NAC, derived from the amino acid cysteine, improves glutathione production and helps prevent acetaldehyde toxicity, a major cause of hangover symptoms.
Taking at least 200 milligrams of NAC 30 minutes before drinking can help reduce the harmful effects of alcohol. Combining NAC with vitamin B1 (thiamine) is believed to increase its effectiveness.
But for good health, avoid alcohol altogether and look for the main reasons why you drink alcohol instead. Due to stress, social pressure or habit, find alternative ways to meet these needs. This can include choosing social activities that don’t involve drinking, cuddling. Alternative methods for stress reduction Or change your routine so that you are not tempted to drink.
These effects of alcohol are part of my extensive investigation into the main factors influencing health and longevity. Mitochondrial health plays an important role in this study. I explore this in depth in my book, “Your Guide to Cellular Health: Unlocking the Science of Long-Term Health and Happiness,” in which I describe the importance of boosting mitochondrial function to both prevent and reverse long-term disease.
Alcohol consumption is only one of several key factors that negatively affect mitochondria and accelerate the aging process. Other significant contributors include an excess of omega-6 fatty acids, exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs), and chemicals that disrupt your endocrine system. By avoiding these harmful effects and prioritizing the health of your cells, you have the ability to significantly increase your overall well-being and extend your lifespan.
