How drinking alcohol can affect your health

01Past research suggested drinking alcohol in moderate amounts could be good for the heart.

02But a growing number of public health experts now advise people to limit alcohol intake as much as possible to improve health.

03One of those experts is Dr.

04Timothy Namy.

05He is with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

06Namy told the Associated Press, Drinking less is a great way to be healthier.

07Earlier this month, U.S.

08Surgeon General Dr.

09Vivek Murthy called for changing his agency's existing health warning on alcoholic drinks to include cancer risks.

10Such a change would require approval from Congress.

11The Surgeon General's proposed change is linked to research suggesting that drinking alcohol raises the risk of several types of cancer, including colon, liver, breast, mouth, and throat.

12Alcohol breaks down in the body into a substance called acetaldehyde.

13This chemical can damage cells and stop them from repairing themselves.

14The process can create conditions for cancer to grow.

15Namy said estimates show thousands of U.S.

16deaths could be prevented each year if people followed government dietary guidelines on drinking alcohol.

17The guidelines advise men to limit themselves to two drinks or fewer per day and women to one drink or fewer per day.

18An example of one drink would be equal to one 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or one serving of liquor.

19U.S.

20Surgeon General Murthy noted there are about 100,000 alcohol-related cancer cases in the United States each year, and about 20,000 alcohol-related cancer deaths are reported yearly.

21As you consider whether or how much to drink, keep in mind that less is better when it comes to cancer risk.

22Morthy wrote on the social media service X, Medical experts say the idea that moderate drinking can cause health improvements or benefits came from imperfect studies.

23The research compared groups of people based on how much they drank with amounts usually measured at only one point in time.

24Since some earlier studies did not follow rules about what groups were measured, researchers say they did not effectively prove cause and effect.

25Namy said people who report drinking moderately generally have higher levels of education, higher earnings, and better resources for health care.

26He explained that when those elements are considered, the benefits tend to disappear.

27Another problem, Namy noted, was that most studies did not include younger people.

28Almost half of people who die from alcohol-related causes do so before the age of 50.

29Namy said the studied groups did not effectively represent all drinkers.

30This likely created an appearance of a benefit for moderate drinkers that is not real, he added.

31Health guidelines related to alcohol intake have wide differences from country to country.

32But the overall message today is that drinking less is better for health.

33Britain, France, Denmark, Holland, and Australia recently examined new evidence and lowered their guidelines for safe amounts of alcohol.

34Ireland plans to begin requiring cancer warnings on alcohol containers starting in 2026.

35Karina Ferreira-Borgias is an advisor on alcohol for the World Health Organization in Europe.

36She said scientists had changed their minds from earlier research.

37This is because more recent studies suggest drinking alcohol is linked to over 200 health conditions, including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and injuries.

38Namy said, The simple message that's best supported by the evidence is that if you drink, less is better when it comes to health.

39I'm Andrew Smith.