The old adage of “everything in moderation” has become something like an excuse-me note for those who do not wish to change their lifestyle. And the little bit that supposedly does not harm is another variation in the theme of excuses. Yet the truth remains, that this does not apply to various lifestyle habits. It still matters, what you ingest in your food or drink, as Dr. Joseph Anderson found out in a study of 2,291 patients.
All of these individuals presented for screening colonoscopy. It turned out that those who had a history of consuming more than 8 drinks of spirits or beer per week for at least ten years were more than twice as likely as abstainers to have significant cancer of the colon. The group that drank beer and hard liquor (and hard liquor also applies to the category of mixed drinks) faced at least a one in five chance to have significant colorectal neoplasia (meaning cancer of the colon or rectum). This came as no surprise to the researchers, as beer and hard liquor seem equally pernicious.
Even though wine does not seem to carry the same risk, Dr. Anderson is in no position to condone counseling patients to drink wine instead.
Hard Liquor And Beer Hike Colon Cancer Risk
His advice to other doctors is to ” counsel the patients on what they are drinking and counsel them to temper their drinking.”
More information about causes of colorectal cancer: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/colon-cancer/food-risk-factors-colon-cancer-rectal-cancer/
Reference: The Medical Post, October 11, 2005, page 46
Last edited October 29, 2014
