A new report has lifted the lid on precisely what happens to the human body if just one alcoholic beverage is consumed every day.
We all know excessive alcohol consumption can give our heart, liver, gut and overall health a beating with health care professionals around the world unanimously agreeing we’re best steering clear of liquor entirely.
Now, a new White House report has analyzed what really happens to the body when we consume alcohol even moderately compared to teetotallers.
The 81-page report, titled Scientific Findings of the Alcohol Intake & Health Study for Public Comment, draws on the expertise of several of the best heavily qualified US scientists and professors in public health, mental health, epidemiology and alcohol and substance use.
Their studies revealed having just one alcohol drink per week raises the risk of more than 20 health conditions when compared to not drinking, including infectious diseases, eight types of cancers, four cardiovascular diseases, like stroke and heart failure, liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, diabetes and epilepsy – but there were some anomalies when it came to just one per day – and differences between men and women.
One drink per week and cancer link
For men, just one drink a week can hike the risk of colon cancer by 16 percent and esophageal cancer by six percent, compared to those who did not drink, the study shows.
As for women, the report said one drink a week increases the risk of pharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, laryngeal cancer by five percent as well as breast cancer.
The report added: “Increased risk for these cancers begins with any alcohol use and increases with higher levels of use.
“Women experience a much greater risk of an alcohol-attributable cancer per drink consumed.”
Yet, interestingly, the research also found women are a lower risk of diabetes if they were to drink one beverage per day, and overall people who had one drink per week had a lower risk of diabetes and no heightened risk of heart disease compared to those who don’t consume alcohol.
Heart disease and one drink per day
The theory that moderate drinking is beneficial to heart health has now been debunked as the new study says men who drink two units per day, and women who have one drink ,experience ‘no difference in risk’ for heart disease compared to those who don’t drink.
But the report did find low to moderate drinkers of no more than one drink per week have a lower risk of stroke by 10 per cent, which went down even further to eight percent for those who had one drink a day or seven drinks per week.
Death and injury
Still, researchers say both men and women have a one in 1,000 risk of dying from alcohol use if they drink more than seven drinks a week, which hikes to just one in 100 risk when more than nine drinks are consumed in a week.
People who drink alcohol also have a higher risk of intentional or unintentional injuries, like car crashes.
The research comes as scientific evidence is being compiled to shape new drinking and dietary guidelines in the US as President-elect Donald Trump, who doesn’t drink, takes office on Monday (January 20).
Current US guidelines advise men consume no more than two alcoholic drinks per day, while women should have no more than one per day.
Kevin Shield, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) and senior scientist in mental health and addiction, who co-wrote the report, told The Daily Mail: “It’s important to note that our report found that no level of alcohol consumption is completely risk-free.
“The analysis results show that, among drinkers, the lower their alcohol consumption, the lower their risk of mortality.
“Conversely, as alcohol consumption increases, so does the risk of mortality. So when it comes to alcohol use, less is best for health.”
