Do not drink a drop of alcohol, life is shorter? Lancet: Real hammer! Tobacco and alcohol are the number one cancer-causing 'murderers'

The 106-year-old Uncle Wang, who has lived in the same family for six generations, is the eldest old man in the village.

Strange to say, Uncle Wang does one thing every day, which is drinking. What he likes to drink the most is the brewed baogu wine, and it is not a problem to drink 200 pounds a year. A bowl of sour noodle soup with wine, the elderly eat with relish.

"The people who told me to quit drinking before, didn't live as long as I did, and are gone."

This seems to go against common sense, after all, we believe that the sooner we quit smoking and alcohol, the better. Are people who drink more alcohol less likely to get cancer? Is it wrong to drink alcohol to cause cancer?

1. Drinking some alcohol in moderation is beneficial to the elderly?

A blockbuster study published in The Lancet quantified the risk profile of alcohol intake by sex, age, and year based on 21 global regions, including 204 countries and territories.

The results found that young people aged 15-39 drink alcohol without any health benefits, but only bring health risks; while middle-aged and elderly people aged 40 and above who have no underlying health problems, drink a small amount of alcohol (1~1 per day). 2 cups) can benefit , including reduced risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

The study pointed out that the reason why a small amount of alcohol is friendly to the elderly is mainly caused by the difference in disease burden and major causes of death in different age groups. Possible reasons include the reduction of acute injury events after drinking, and moderate drinking can reduce diabetes and stroke. risk of other diseases.

But this does not mean that the elderly can drink openly. Research shows that among people over 40 years old in the world, the minimum amount of drinking that can cause harm is 0.114~1.87 standard cups, 1 standard cup is about 300 ml of ordinary beer, 100 ml of red wine or less than 30ml of 40% spirits.

For the sake of health and personal safety, no matter how old you are, you should drink as little alcohol as possible.

Second, do people who drink more live longer?

Some people say that people who don't drink alcohol have shorter lifespans than those who drink heavily. What's the matter?

This claim mainly comes from a study published in the American "Time" magazine, which tracked a large sample of data spanning two decades and found that compared with non-drinkers, people who drink are healthier, and Mortality rates are also lower, and people who drink in moderation, in particular, live longer.

In fact, Time magazine is just Newsweek, and the study was actually published in Alcoholism: A Study in Clinical and Experimental Research by psychologist Charlie Schaurigham of the University of Texas at Austin. Studies have shown that people who do not drink and who drink heavily have higher mortality rates than those who drink in moderation.

However, this study actually has many flaws. It is only an epidemiological observational study and cannot confirm the existence of a causal relationship. Moreover, there are only more than a thousand eligible samples in the study, and such a sample size is not enough .

In conclusion, the results of this study do not prove that drinking alcohol can make people live longer.

There is also a saying that people who drink more are less likely to get cancer, which is also unscientific.

A new study published in "The Lancet" found that drinking and smoking are the top two cancer risk factors in the world . About 4.45 million cancer patients died from drinking, smoking and other cancer risk factors, accounting for the world's cancer deaths. 44.4% of the population.

Overall, the study shows that drinking and smoking are still major risk factors for the global cancer burden, so we still need to stay away from alcohol and tobacco to keep ourselves a little farther from cancer.

3. A drop of alcohol does not touch health, and it is not necessarily longevity

Of course, there are some people who don't drink alcohol, but they don't live longer. Why?

Because there are many factors that affect longevity, especially chronic diseases will pose a huge threat to longevity. In China, the number of deaths due to chronic diseases accounts for 88.5% of the total deaths. In addition, according to the statistics of the World Health Organization, 60% of chronic diseases are related to an unhealthy lifestyle . If you want to live a long life, you must pay attention to developing a healthy lifestyle. In addition to quitting smoking and drinking, you should also pay attention to the following points:

1. Have a reasonable diet

Eating a healthy diet, eating too much or too little, is not good for longevity and health. According to the recommendations of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", the food should be diversified and reasonably matched; eat more fruits and vegetables, soybeans, and milk; eat fish, eggs, poultry, and lean meat in moderation; less salt, less oil, and sugar control.

2. Pay attention to sleep

Longevity and good sleep are inseparable. Studies have found that people who sleep less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours a day have higher cardiovascular and morbidity risks and death than people who sleep 6 to 8 hours a day. Rate. Therefore, although sleep is very important, it does not mean that the more sleep the better.

3. Proper exercise

Exercise can reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and other diseases. Studies have shown that consuming 150 kcal per day, or 1000 kcal per week, can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50% and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 30%. ~35% risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer.

4. Optimism

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which followed more than 70,000 participants for up to 30 years, found that the most optimistic men lived 11% longer and women 15% longer.

In a word, drinking alcohol can cause certain damage to the body, especially alcohol abuse can cause more damage, so we should try not to drink alcohol as much as possible, and at the same time pay attention to developing a healthy lifestyle.

References:

[1] The Lancet: 1 drop of alcohol can damage the health of young people, but 2 drinks a day are friendly to the elderly! Don't drink when you are young, drink when you are old! 》.Bio Valley.2022-08-17

[2] "20-year large sample study proves that "moderate drinking is good for health"? It's fake, it's only healthy if you don't drink alcohol". Ruan Guangfeng Nutritionist. 2021-07-30

[3] "How long can a person live? How to live longer? About longevity, the whole article is clear! 》. Tencent Medical Code. 2022-02-06

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