No sip of wine is beneficial! The Lancet: Drinking a small cup a day can cause 740,000 cancers a year

"Old Zhang! Are you secretly drinking behind my back again!" Lao Zhang's wife questioned Lao Zhang with the liquor she had dug out from under the wardrobe. Since Lao Zhang was found to have high blood pressure last year, his wife has been persuading him to quit drinking and not let him drink again, but Lao Zhang still secretly drinks behind her back.

"I just drank a small cup when I finished my meal! Besides, what's wrong with my drinking ? Experts say that drinking in moderation is good for cardiovascular health. Why don't you believe it?"

"Old Huang next door passed away last year because of drinking alcohol. I asked you to quit drinking for your own good. When will you listen to me..."

Many people love to drink and think that drinking can help health, but in fact, "drinking hurts the health" has long been proven.

1. No sip of wine is innocent! How does alcohol cause cancer?

Recently, a new study in The Lancet Oncology found that in 2020, there will be about 740,000 new cancer cases worldwide due to alcohol consumption , including about 280,000 cases in China.

In terms of cancer types, among the new alcohol-related cancers, the most absolute cases are esophageal cancer (189,700) and liver cancer (154,700), followed by breast cancer (98,300) and colon cancer (91,500). ), lip and oral cavity cancer (74,900 cases), rectal cancer (65,100 cases), pharyngeal cancer (39,400 cases), larynx cancer (27,600 cases).

How does drinking alcohol cause cancer?

In fact, alcohol itself is not carcinogenic. What really causes gene mutation and causes cell death in the body is its metabolite in the human body, alcohol (ethanol).

After alcohol enters the body, it is metabolized to acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase, and then metabolized to acetic acid by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and excreted. Among them, acetaldehyde is a clear carcinogen . Acetaldehyde can directly bind to DNA, causing DNA mutation and even chromosomal mutation. It can also cause cell death in the body, induce chronic inflammation and cell replication, and increase the probability of cancer.

Second, moderate drinking is good for health? stop believing

The World Heart Federation (WHF) issued a briefing "The impact of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular health: myths and measures", pointing out that any level of alcohol consumption is harmful to the body. In 2019 alone, 2.4 million people died from alcohol , accounting for 4.3% of global deaths.

A study involving 36,678 middle-aged and elderly people's drinking habits and brain MRI data found that even a small drink a day may lead to a decrease in brain volume. obvious.

In addition to this, the damage to the body from drinking alcohol is systemic and may cause the following diseases:

1. Kidney disease

Drinking alcohol can have many adverse effects on the kidneys, known as "alcoholic kidney damage." When drinking a lot of alcohol, the body will produce some by-products, such as free radicals. If the body cannot remove these free radicals, oxidative stress will occur and the kidneys will be damaged.

Excessive drinking can also lead to higher levels of endotoxins in the blood circulation, triggering a "cytokine storm" that damages the kidneys and reduces kidney function.

2. Liver disease

After alcohol enters the human body, it is metabolized by the liver, and many substances that are very toxic to the human body will be produced in the process of metabolism, which will eventually lead to the occurrence of fatty liver, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and other diseases.

3. Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

A study conducted by Sun Yingxian's team at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in more than 10,000 villagers found that heavy drinking can significantly increase the risk of coronary heart disease and hypertension. Moderate drinking did not show cardiovascular benefits.

In addition, a study in the United Kingdom involving more than 350,000 people also found that every increase of about 852 ml of beer with an alcohol content of 4% will increase the risk of cardiovascular events by 23%.

4. Increased risk of all-cause mortality

The Lancet published a study that included a sample size of 600,000 people and involved multi-country results. It found that drinking more than 350g per week can reduce life expectancy by nearly 5 years. Even if the weekly intake is 100-200g, it will still affect Life expectancy has an impact.

Therefore, there is no benefit to drinking alcohol. The so-called "moderate amount" is just psychological comfort. The best amount of alcohol to drink is not to drink a drop!

3. Who can drink more, the person who blushes after drinking or who has a white face after drinking?

At the dining table, some people drink easily, and they blush after one or two glasses of wine, but there are also some people, no matter how much wine they drink, their faces are pale. Who can drink more, the person who blushes after drinking or the person who blushes after drinking?

In fact, whether a person can drink or not is determined by genetics , and whether skin changes will occur after drinking is also related to the speed of metabolism in the body.

For people who blush when they drink alcohol, the activity of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-2 in their body is very low, so that acetaldehyde cannot be metabolized well out of the body, resulting in accumulation, and acetaldehyde will dilate blood vessels, causing flushing and headaches , rapid heartbeat, etc.

For people who have a pale face after drinking, it is also related to acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-2. A large amount of alcohol enters the blood, stimulates sympathetic nerve excitation, releases neurotransmitters such as catecholamines, and causes a large number of skin blood vessels to shrink, resulting in pale complexion.

Moreover, compared with people who are blushing, if drinking with a pale face and encountering a low outside temperature, it will cause the body to dissipate heat too quickly, resulting in hyperthermia, which is likely to be life-threatening.

Fourth, honey water, strong tea do not hangover! Several ways to reduce alcohol harm

In daily life, many people will drink honey water or strong tea to hangover after drinking a lot. In practice, however, these methods are unreliable.

Drinking honey water after drinking alcohol does make the body feel good, just because warm water gives a sense of comfort. In addition, drinking tea to hangover, theophylline in tea can fight alcohol-induced confusion to a certain extent, but it has no effect on the decomposition of alcohol and the protection of the liver.

If you have to drink in some frequent drinks, Xiaojiu recommends several methods that can effectively reduce the harm of alcohol to the body:

• Do not drink on an empty stomach

In the fasting state, alcohol is more likely to be absorbed more quickly, making people prone to intoxication. Therefore, before drinking, you can eat some high-fat, high-protein, high-carbohydrate foods, such as rice, bread, small biscuits, etc. , to delay gastric emptying and reduce the speed of alcohol absorption.

• Drink in moderation

According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", men should drink no more than 25 grams of alcohol a day, and women should not exceed 15 grams, otherwise it will be regarded as excessive drinking.

• drink slower

After drinking alcohol, ethanol can enter the blood within a few minutes. The faster you drink, the faster the ethanol concentration will rise , and you will soon enter a drunken state, so try to drink slowly.

• drink plenty of water

Drinking more water when drinking will help to promote the dilution and metabolism of alcohol, and accelerate the excretion of alcohol in the body.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has clearly pointed out that alcohol is an important carcinogen. There is no so-called "small drink and happiness". If you want to be healthy, we still hope that everyone should try not to drink alcohol.

References:

[1] "No sip of alcohol is innocent! "The Lancet Oncology": In 2020, drinking alcohol will cause 740,000 cases of cancer". Life Times. 2021-07-27

[2] "The more you drink, the smaller your brain? A cup a day also makes a difference! |One Week Technology". Nutshell. 2022-03-19

[3] "What's the harm in drinking alcohol? The paper "The Lancet" explained thoroughly". Digestive and Liver Disease Channel of the Medical Community. 2019-01-28

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