For many years, Americans were told that small to moderate amounts of alcohol wasn’t harmful to health, in fact, it could actually be good for you. However, health officials caution that even small amounts of alcohol can have a negative impact on health. And now, the Surgeon General is sounding the alarm about the potential cancerous effects of the drug.
Last week, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the Surgeon General of the United States, published an advisory calling for alcohol labels to including a warning about the risk of cancer. In the advisory, Murthy outlines some of the ways alcohol disrupts cellular functions. “Alcohol breaks down into acetaldehyde which damages DNA in multiple ways, causing an increased risk of cancer,” the advisory said. Alcohol also, “induces oxidative stress, increasing the risk of cancer by damaging DNA, proteins, and cells and increasing inflammation.” Additionally, the report argued that alcohol is a carcinogen and can cause breast cancer.
However, Allysia Finley of the Wall Street Journal is not convinced that moderate drinking leads to overall negative health effects. Finley cites a recent analysis of moderate drinking published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine which “found insufficient evidence to support a link between moderate drinking and oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, laryngeal and other cancers.” Murthy’s report, on Finley’s view, is biased. “Dr. Murthy’s claims about alcohol’s cancer risks are misleading but typical of his reports, which are intended to drive a political agenda.”
Dr. Sean O’Mara, MD, told Drew Mariani he’s concerned about alcohol’s role in health. “Alcohol affects your metabolism and therefore causes you to develop adiposity… a type of fat in your abdomen called visceral fat.” Unfortunately, many who consume alcohol are unaware that they even have visceral fat because it’s not as visible exteriorly. O’Mara says getting rid of visceral fat can help improve autoimmune disorders and chronic disease.
If someone is going to drink, O’Mara recommends wines with low levels of carbohydrates like Cabernet Sauvignon. “ Red wine is going to be the least harmful of all the alcoholic beverages that you might consume,” he told Drew. “ So you definitely want to stay away from the higher alcohol content like liquor and those that have higher carbohydrates.”
