Alcohol and Health Effects
The Link Between Drinking and Disease: Does Alcohol Cause Cancer
Dec
Can Alcohol Cause Cancer?
Research has consistently found correlations between cancer and alcohol consumption, particularly in parts of the body where alcohol comes into direct contact.
How much alcohol do I need to consume to be at risk? Well, drinking any amount of alcohol can increase your risk of cancer, but that doesn’t mean that it carries the same risk factor.
How Does Alcohol Cause Cancer?
There are several ways in which alcohol can contribute to and cause cancer in humans.
Researchers believe alcohol could contribute to cancer risks by:
- Alcohol helps produce acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde is a possible carcinogen that can damage DNA and proteins. Acetaldehyde is formed when the body breaks down ethanol. Ethanol is the alcohol found in beer, wine and spirits.
- Alcohol irritates healthy cells. Alcohol irritates the body as it damages cells that need repair. Repairing cells is stressful and costly to body function, which can lead to DNA changes with the potential of producing cancers. Another form of alcohol stress is oxidative stress; when consuming alcohol regularly, the body produces more free radicals than anti-oxidants, increasing vulnerability to alcohol-related cancers.
- Increasing estrogen levels. Drinking alcohol can increase estrogen levels, linking it to breast cancer.
- Limiting bodily function. Having alcohol as part of your diet, whether having a wine with dinner or that bit more, can make it difficult to break down and absorb nutrients. Resulting in susceptibility to malnutrition and immune deficiencies.
How Can I Lower Cancer Risk?
The recommended alcohol unit intake per person is 14 units per week. So, we can lower our cancer risk by drinking less than 14 units per week. Inflammation is a significant factor in creating cancerous cells. There are several ways that inflammation can increase in your body and therefore increase the risk of cancer, including environmental pollutants such as smoke and fumes, bacteria and viruses, and the two that are involved in alcohol are food and stress (chemical, psychological and physical)
What Cancers are Related to Alcohol?
As mentioned above, any amount of alcohol can cause some form of cancer risk, but drinking more than two or three drinks can significantly increase your chances of other forms of cancer.
Drinking any amount of alcohol can increase:
- Breast cancer
- Oesophagus cancer
- Mouth cancer
- Upper throat cancer
Consuming more than the daily recommended intake can increase the likelihood of developing cancers such as:
- Stomach Cancer
- Liver cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Reducing alcohol intake
Cancer is a part of life and can affect any one of us, no matter our lifestyles. However, reducing alcohol intake to the recommended amount can reduce our chances of forming alcohol-related cancers.
If you have a couple of wines with dinner every night, reducing your two wines to one wine can make a big difference to your overall well-being. Or try a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage instead.
Reducing our alcohol intake may be more complicated for some. Those who drink excessively are more physiologically reliant and may require more help.
One of the ways that can help reduce your alcohol cravings is supplements. At Desistal, we have a pill supplement that can encourage you to cut down your drinking or stop entirely.
What is Desistal?
Desistal is a supplement pill containing non-pharmaceutical ingredients that help reduce your cravings for alcohol, making it easier to reduce your drinking, leading to a more productive and healthy lifestyle.
How does Desistal work?
Desistal is a supplement that can help alleviate withdrawal symptoms by boosting acetate uptake in the brain and improving the NAD+/NADH Ratio in your cells, helping to counteract the adverse effects of withdrawal by acting as a substitute for the alcohol your brain has been using for energy, thus restoring balance to your mind and body.
What is in Desistal?
Desistal has three critical ingredients known for curbing alcohol cravings and helping reduce withdrawal symptoms while restoring your body to a healthier balance.
These three key ingredients are:
Bacopa Monnieri
Also known as the creeping plant, bacopa monnieri is a supplement that may help improve your memory, mental state and overall well-being.
Consuming alcohol can be detrimental to your mental health and your memory. So it makes sense to take Bacopa Monnieri to counterbalance these effects as part of your recovery.
Apple Cider Vinegar
We have heard many reports of stomach pain and cramps when reducing or coming off alcohol. Discomfort in the gut is common when the body is ridding itself of alcohol. Acetate is an ingredient found in apple cider vinegar, and studies have shown that acetate can help reduce the symptoms of gut discomfort by metabolising glycine and serine.
Glycine and Serine are amino acids known for treating depression. Depression, or low moods, is common when withdrawing from alcohol and is important in maintaining momentum.
MCT oil (Medium Chain Triglyceride)
Adapting to the changes in how we consume alcohol can be tiring, mainly due to our bodies moving to counter this change.
MCT oil contains fat that our body can more easily absorb and change into energy, which can help revitalise us during the withdrawal process.
Recent studies have explored the effectiveness of MCT oil in eliminating yeast from the body, which may result in decreased cravings for sugar and alcohol.
Alcohol, Cancer and Desistal
Taking Desistal will not directly reduce your chances of cancer. Still, it will help you reduce your alcohol intake safely and effectively, which may contribute to decreasing the likelihood of cancer developing.
Whether you are a casual or frequent drinker, moving away from alcohol can be challenging mentally and physically. It is, therefore, essential to consider Desistal as part of that transition.
Many of our clients have claimed that Desistal was vital in their journey towards cutting down and reported a dramatic decrease in irritability, internal chatter and withdrawal discomfort. With all of these symptoms muted, there is more chance of success.
Sources
Alcohol and Cancer – Cancer Research UK