Cancer researchers in the United Kingdom have concluded that drinking as little as one glass of alcohol a day increases your risk of developing bowel cancer by about 10 percent. And, the more you drink, the more your risk of cancer increases.
The study included almost 480,000 people in the U.K. who were questioned about their level of alcohol intake, with follow-ups over the course of six years. In that period, 1,833 developed colon cancer.
The study showed that those who drank more than 30 grams of alcohol per day (less than two pints of strong lager) raised their cancer risk by about 25 percent.
According to Dr. Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer information, “While there is increasing evidence that over indulging in alcohol can increase the risk of some cancers, research also shows that by far the biggest risk for life threatening diseases is the combination of smoking together with drinking alcohol.”
International Journal of Cancer July 19, 2007