Sorry Ladies, That Daily Glass of Wine Increases Your Risk For Breast Cancer

   By SheSpeaksTeam  May 26, 2017

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If you look forward to an evening glass of wine or cocktail every day, then you may want to consider a new report that suggests a daily drink raises the risk of breast cancer. According to the study, even just a daily small glass of wine has the potential to raise breast cancer risks significantly.

CNN reports about the new information from the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research that warns women of the risk of daily drinking and breast cancer. Though it has long been known that drinking alcohol can increase risks for this type of cancer, it has only been through further study that scientists found even small daily doses of alcohol can make women more susceptible.

If you tend to drink one small glass of wine, an 8 ounce glass of beer or 1 ounce of hard liquor on a daily basis, researchers find that premenopausal women are at a 5% increased risk of developing breast cancer. The risk for postmenopausal women goes up to 9% for those who imbibe daily.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Anne McTiernan, was surprised with the results. She explains, “I was most surprised by the alcohol result, that risk increases at just one drink a day, on average. The increase with one drink a day was small ... but the risk goes up from there. So that's why AICR recommends no more than one alcohol drink a day for women to reduce risk for cancer.”

So why does a daily drink increase risk of breast cancer? Chin-Yo Lin, a researcher at the University of Houston's Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, explains how our bodies may react to even a small daily dose of alcohol. Lin says, “in exposed tissues, alcohol is converted into acetaldehyde, a chemical that can cause mutations in DNA, which can potentially lead to cancer.” He adds, “Alcohol consumption is also associated with elevated levels of the female sex hormone estrogen. Excessive cumulative exposure to estrogen is a major risk factor in breast cancer. A number of studies have shown that alcohol can enhance the actions of estrogen in breast cancer cells.”

Do you have a daily glass of wine?

What do you think of the new study that suggests even a small daily drink can increase the risk of developing breast cancer?