Latest news with #JurgenRehm
CNA
4 days ago
- Health
- CNA
We all know the health risks of drinking – is there a 'least bad' alcohol choice?
If you've heard that red wine is better for you than beer or liquor, or that clear liquor like vodka or gin is less harmful than dark liquor like rum or whiskey, we have bad news. 'Alcohol is alcohol,' said Jurgen Rehm, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. Drinking any type of alcohol, in any amount, is bad for health. Still, experts say, it's sometimes not reasonable or even practical for people to avoid alcohol entirely. So if you're going to drink, there are some strategies you can take to reduce your risk, and to avoid some of the other unpleasant effects of drinking, like hangovers. WHY ALCOHOL IS SO HARMFUL When you have a drink, your body turns the ethanol that's present in the alcoholic beverage into a 'really nasty substance' called acetaldehyde, which can damage your DNA, said Timothy Stockwell, an alcohol researcher at the University of Victoria in Canada. Many tissues in the body, including those in the mouth, throat, liver, colon and breasts, are susceptible to this harm. And when that DNA gets repaired, cancerous mutations may arise. This is why drinking increases the risk for developing at least seven types of cancer, said Katherine Keyes, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University. Excessive alcohol use – which includes having eight or more drinks per week for women or 15 or more per week for men; or four or more drinks per occasion for women or five or more for men – is also linked with many other health conditions. These include heart and liver disease, depression, anxiety and memory problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The more ethanol in your drink, the more harmful it is, Dr Keyes said. One way to assess this is to look at a drink's alcohol by volume, or ABV, which manufacturers must list on product labels. If you're choosing between two beers of the same size, for instance, and one is 4 per cent ABV and the other is 8 per cent, the 4 per cent beer will expose you to half as much ethanol. In general, beer has less ethanol than wine per ounce, and wine has less than liquors like vodka and tequila, Dr Keyes said. But there can be large variations within these categories, Dr Stockwell said. Some strong beers, for instance, have ABVs that are higher than those of some wines (or even some liquors, on the extreme end). HOW TO DRINK WISELY A good rule for reducing your exposure to ethanol is to generally choose drinks with lower ABVs, the experts said. But it's important to pay attention to how much you're drinking as well. A standard 12-ounce pour of a 5 per cent ABV beer typically has the same amount of ethanol as five ounces of a 12 per cent wine or 1.5 ounces (or a shot) of a 40 per cent liquor. It can be tricky to calculate the ABV of cocktails, said Dr Peng-Sheng (Brian) Ting, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Tulane University School of Medicine, since they are often made with sodas, juices and sometimes multiple types of alcohol. For this reason, he recommends sticking with wine or beer in situations where you want to know exactly how much ethanol you're consuming. Some types of alcohol are also quite high in calories, which when consumed in excess can increase the risk of weight gain and obesity. And some cocktail mixers, like juices and sodas, can contain added sugars, also raising the risk for obesity and other health conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Dr Keyes also recommended against consuming alcoholic drinks that are mixed with caffeine (like espresso martinis or vodka Red Bulls). The energy boost you get from them may make you feel less inebriated than you really are, potentially prompting you to drink more and to become more drunk, Dr Keyes said. And while there's no evidence that darker liquors are more harmful to health than clear ones, there is limited research suggesting that some darker liquors can cause more severe hangovers, said Damaris Rohsenow, a professor at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University. Darker alcohols (like bourbon, rum and brandy) tend to have higher levels of congeners, substances that are created during the fermentation process and contribute to a drink's flavor, aroma and color. More congeners typically translates to worse hangovers, Dr Rohsenow said. There can be exceptions to the 'clear is better' rule, however, Dr Rohsenow added. Some tequilas, which can be clear or light-coloured, for instance, can be high in congeners and may lead to worse hangovers.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
Yet Another Study Warns That Consuming Alcohol Raises Cancer Rates
Dr. Chinmay Jani, the chief fellow in Hematology and Oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer ... More Center in Miami, led a study connecting drinking alcohol to coming down with cancer Before people in the U.S. in the 1960's stopped smoking in great numbers, they needed to hear how it caused cancer, not once, but in several studies. In 2025, the same thing is happening with research that shows that drinking alcohol increases the rates of cancer. The latest study 'Escalating Impact of Alcohol-Related Cancer Mortality in the U..S.: A Call for Action,' published in the American Society of Clinical Oncology in May 2025, reinforces what has been written about before: consumption of alcohol greatly heightens the chances of being diagnosed with cancer. The study was written by cancer doctors from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, Fl.. Indeed it cites that already the U.S. Surgeon General in January 2025 recommended adding cancer risk warning labels to alcoholic beverages, just as cigarette packets carry these labels. But the latest study uncovers new ground by analyzing mortality rates and showing that drinking alcohol not only leads to liver cancer, but to breast, colorectal, and lip-oral cavity cancer. The results revealed that in the U.S. from 1990 to 2021 alcohol-related deaths doubled. The 55-plus age group showed a significantly higher mortality rate than those aged 20-54. To improve this situation in the future, it recommended 'targeted prevention efforts, public health policies, and increased awareness to address the rising impact of alcohol consumption on cancer-related mortality.' Alcohol consumption is down, but negligibly. A Northwell Health report said in 2022 American's alcohol consumption decreased by 1.2% from the previous year. When Jurgen Rehm, a senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, was asked in a NY Times 'Ask Well' column which type of alcohol is least harmful, he replied, 'Alcohol is alcohol,' suggesting all alcohol is harmful. Here's what Dr. Chinmay Jani, the lead author of the 'Escalating Impact' study and a clinical fellow at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, specializing in hematology and oncology, said about it in a Q&A. Question: This is the second or third study linking alcohol consumption to cancer and yet bars are packed, liquor sales are down but minimally. Why isn't the U.S. getting the message that drinking alcohol is dangerous? Dr. Jani: First and foremost, awareness is not there enough. This is the second or third study, and our study showed that drinking alcohol is linked to multiple cancers and not just liver cancer. Any time we want to deliver that message, we need more and more evidence. Until we have more evidence to deliver that message strongly, the awareness, even by the doctors, won't be strong enough., Question: What is the status of the Surgeon General's recommendation that a warning label be placed be placed on alcohol beverages? Dr. Jani: That gave us an idea to look into that data and that's how we did the study. There aren't enough warning labels on liquor bottles because people aren't receptive unless we create more evidence and do further studies. Question: Your study relied on mortality death rates. Why? Dr. Jani: First and foremost, that was the data that was available. Once we have the data, the next step is to do a prospective study, where we can see direct impact on the patients. Question: Based on this study, what would you recommend most people do about consuming alcohol? Dr. Jani: My main recommendation is that whenever you're drinking alcohol, it is a carcinogen, a chemical that can lead to cancer. The data is coming out more and more showcasing that alcohol can have a harmful effect similar to tobacco. Question: Would you recommend cutting down or cutting out alcohol? Dr. Jani: Cutting down on alcohol. We don't yet know the quantative impact of alcohol on cancer. We don't yet know the exact number of how much alcohol is safe to drink. Whether you're drinking every day or abstaining for 5 days, and then suddenly drinking, alcohol is harmful for you. Question: Stated simply, why does alcohol increase the chances of getting cancer? Dr. Jani: One mechanism is that alcohol gets converted into acetaldehyde, or is broken into different chemicals because it is a toxic carcinogen and damaging to the DNA in our body. Alcohol can also modulate hormonal pathways especially in estrogen and metabolism, which can increase alcohol's impact on cancer in females. Question: Most people who drink are considered cool, and most who don't are viewed as straight-laced or teetotalers. What's wrong with this picture? Dr. Jani: One thing I would say, healthy lifestyles is a boon to health. More and more people are becoming conscious of their mental health. All of these different addictions are extremely harmful to people. And with people who are health-conscious, the amount of alcohol or any other addiction is extremely low. Question: Smoking, for most people, is considered risky and dangerous and increasing your chances of getting cancer and reducing longevity. Should alcohol be viewed in the same way? Dr. Jani: When data came in that tobacco is a risk factor, it took almost a decade to get it out to the public. Hence, we need more data about alcohol's effect. Question: What would you tell your son or daughter about drinking alcohol? Dr. Jani: In our study, elderly people have 7 times the risk of alcohol inducing cancer than younger people. The more you drink, the effects will come later at older age. Question: The people who drink in excess like 3 or 4 beers or glasses of wine a night when going to dinner or a bar. What would you say to them? Dr. Jani: That you're inviting cancer into your life. Question: Bottom-line, what's your best scientific recommendation to people who can't resist drinking alcohol? Dr. Jani: Alcohol leads to cancer. I'll stop there.
