The alcohol health risk

Scientists have amassed persuasive evidence that drinking alcohol regularly — any form, even in moderate amounts — can pose a serious threat to your health. (You should pause to let this fact sink in.)

Researchers have known for nearly 20 years that drinking alcoholic beverages can cause cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver. But those diseases don't receive much publicity. The International Agency for Research on Cancer this year added breast and colon cancer — two of the four major killer cancers — to the list of malignancies known to be fostered by alcohol.

The risk is "dose dependent," meaning the more you drink the higher the risk. Those who have only a few drinks a week have no increased risk.

According to comprehensive reviews of the scientific evidence, people who average a little more than one drink a day (100 grams of alcohol per week) increase their chances of developing colon cancer by about 15 percent. For those who consume about four drinks daily, the risk is 40 percent higher.

Women who have one to two drinks a day increase their breast-cancer risk by 13 percent. With four drinks, the risk is 50 percent higher. That's twice the increase in relative risk attributed to Prempro, a hormone pill tested in the Women's Health Initiative, the well-known study that found the risks of hormone replacement outweigh the benefits.

Another recent study reinforced the fact that even a glass or two of wine a day increases breast cancer risk. Huh huh, even red wine.

Benefits overplayed?

Drinking small amounts of alcohol — a shot of hard liquor or a glass of beer or wine — on a consistent daily basis does have a few proven health benefits.

Specifically, it reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes caused by blocked arteries by 10 to 15 percent. That's probably because alcohol increases good cholesterol and prevents blood platelets from clumping together.

On the other hand, alcohol is a determining factor for more than 60 other diagnoses.

The bottom line?

Let's not kid ourselves about our alcohol consumption.