Did you know that drinking as few as three to six (3-6) glasses of wine per week increases a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer by 15 percent, according to an analysis by Harvard researchers?
Breast cancer is by far the most common illness in women and statistics show that one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives according to the American Cancer Society.
Harvard researchers have found that drinking as few as three to six glasses of wine per week may increase a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer by 15 percent. The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, stating that heavy alcohol use raises the risk of breast cancer, and this applies to light drinkers, as well. “Alcohol is a real risk factor, and the more you drink, the higher your risk,” said Steven Narod, the Canada research chairman in breast cancer at the University of Toronto, who wrote a commentary accompanying the study.
On the other hand, a few drinks a week has been found to lower the incidence of heart disease by 25 to 40 percent!!
Researchers also found that alcohol consumption from ages 18 to 40 was linked with higher breast cancer risk later in life regardless of what a woman’s drinking- habits were after age 40.
Scientists think that alcohol raises levels of the female sex hormone estrogen, which is believed to trigger the growth of tumors.
So, as with most good things in life, the key is moderation! There are risks and dangers in drinking too much wine, but it’s not all bad…it lowers the risk of heart disease and if you drink too much, you won’t even remember the dangers!
