In terms of colorectal cancer risk, it seems beer is bad but wine is fine. A study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that heavy beer drinkers were more likely to develop colorectal cancer than non-beer drinkers. "Heavy" wasn't determined by the size of one's beer belly; it was defined as consuming more than one beer a day.
Wine, however, seemed to have the opposite effect. The study indicated that people who abstained from alcohol were more likely to develop colorectal cancer than people who drank moderate amounts of wine. "Moderate" was defined as consuming no more than one drink each day.
This is something you might want to think about the next time you're having trouble deciding what kind of drink to order. All other things equal, it might not be a bad idea to choose water over beer, or wine over water.
Related Articles:- More Evidence that Alcohol Increases Colorectal Cancer Risk
- Colon Cancer Smackdown: Spirits vs Wine
- Alcohol Found to Increase Rectal Cancer Risk
- Anderson, J. and Alpern, Z. "Prevalence and Risk of Colorectal Neoplasia in Consumers of Alcohol in a Screening Population." The American Journal of Gastroenterology 100.9 (Sep. 2005): 2049-2055. Blackwell Synergy. 24 Aug. 2006.
- Boggs, Will. Beer and Spirits Boost Colorectal Tumor Risk. CancerPage. 20 Sep. 2005. 24 Aug. 2006 [http://www.cancerpage.com/news/article.asp?id=8839].
