Alcohol is a common part of many social activities, but few people realize the impact it can have on their health.
Even if you only drink a small amount, it can still raise your chances of getting very serious diseases like cancer and heart disease.
This is the main point of a recent review of studies about alcohol use and disease risk, which was published in the scientific journal “Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.”
Even A Little Alcohol Can Hurt
The researchers found that the more alcohol you drink, the higher your risk of getting sick. But even if you only drink a little bit, it can still have negative effects on your health.
So, while a small amount of alcohol might protect you against certain illnesses, it can make you more likely to get many others.
That’s why the researchers are urging people to be more aware that any amount of alcohol can raise your risk of serious, and sometimes deadly, diseases.
What Diseases Are We Talking About?
In the review, the researchers looked at 18 diseases that are known to be caused by alcohol. Most of these diseases can be very serious, and some can even be fatal.
The diseases include things like tuberculosis, lung infections, several types of cancer (like those in the mouth, throat, esophagus, colon, and liver), epilepsy, high blood pressure, liver disease, and pancreatitis (a painful inflammation of the pancreas).
For all of these diseases, the risk went up as the amount of alcohol consumed went up.
The Risks and Benefits of Drinking
Interestingly, drinking a small amount of alcohol seemed to offer some protection against heart disease, stroke, and bleeding in the brain in both men and women, as well as diabetes and pancreatitis in women.
However, that same small amount also increased the risk for other diseases.
For example, a man who has one drink a day might lower his risk of stroke, but he would also raise his risks for tuberculosis, lung infections, diabetes, epilepsy, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, liver disease, pancreatitis, and several types of cancer.
A woman who drinks the same amount might lower her risk of diabetes, stroke, and pancreatitis, but she would raise her risks for high blood pressure, epilepsy, an irregular heartbeat, liver disease, tuberculosis, lung infections, and several types of cancer, including breast cancer.
How Did They Figure All This Out?
The researchers sifted through 6,000 articles published between 2017 and March 2021 to find this information. They found 14 reviews of multiple studies, known as meta-analyses, that met their criteria.
They used this information to update the guidelines for reducing alcohol-related health risks that were published by the Australian government in 2020. These guidelines were based on information gathered from 2007 to 2020.
In conclusion, alcohol might seem harmless, especially if you only drink a little bit. But this review shows that even a small amount can raise your risk of getting very serious diseases.
So, it’s a good idea to think twice before you pour that next glass of wine or beer. Your health might depend on it.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about potatoes and high blood pressure, and top 10 choices for a blood pressure-friendly diet
For more information about diabetes, please see recent studies about How to eat to prevent type 2 diabetes and 5 vitamins that may prevent complications in diabetes.
The study was published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
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