There have been several studies proving that, in fact, alcohol does increase women’s chance of getting breast cancer. Researchers have found that women who drink two or more alcoholic beverages a day increased their risk by as much as 41 percent. The more alcohol consumed, the higher the risk. Excessive alcohol use has been known to increase the risk for cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver, also.
Does this mean that 41 percent of the women who drink will get breast cancer? No, not really. Of women who consume two or more alcoholic beverages a day, the current average risk of getting breast cancer in the United States is more like 17 or 18 out of a hundred.
A daily dose of folate, which is about 600 micrograms a day, seems to reduce this risk. Since alcohol steals the folate the body has stored, it makes sense that replacing it with a supplement would decrease that risk. The American Cancer Society suggests that women limit themselves to no more than one alcoholic drink per day.
Based on research, it is estimated that alcohol could possibly be to blame for about 13% of the breast cancer in women. According to the American Cancer Society, last year about 250,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 27,000 of those were alcohol related.
The studies have also shown that women who drank only wine had the same risk as those who drank any other alcoholic beverages.
After looking at these studies, the message is clear. There are no safe levels of alcohol consumption when it comes to the risk for breast cancer. Every drink you take increases your risk.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9480365?dopt=Citation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16087654?dopt=Citation
American Cancer Society: “Key Statistics for Breast Cancer,” 2008