Drinking more than one alcoholic beverage a day dramatically increases your risk of developing bowel cancer. According to Australian researchers who analyzed more than 100 international studies reaching as far back as the 1960s, obesity, smoking, diabetes and large amounts of red meat also increase the risk.
“It’s the first definitive study to quantify the role of lifestyle…on the risk of developing colorectal cancer,” Associate Professor Rachel Huxley of Sydney’s The George Institute told AAP.
“People who eat the highest amount of red and processed meat have about 20 percent greater risk of developing the cancer than those who don’t eat meat,” she said. The risk was similar for those who are obese, smoke, or have diabetes.
But those who drink alcohol face a much higher risk. “We found the risk was 60 percent, and what’s classified as the highest intake isn’t very much,” she said. Just more than one drink daily—or more than seven during a week—significantly increased the risk when compared to those who didn’t drink alcohol at all.
“The risk of colorectal cancer with alcohol is strong and you don’t have to drink a lot,” she said.
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