Alcohol and Cancer: Understanding the Connection

Research has shown that risks for cancer increase among men who have two alcoholic drinks a day and women who have one alcoholic drink per day. While everyone has been widely aware of the fact that smoking cigarettes greatly increase your risk of contracting cancer, there has been very little publicity of the fact that alcohol can act as a similar carcinogen.

By its very nature and design, the consumption of alcohol damages cells in your body. This damage can easily promote cell division, stimulate enzymes which cause the activation of other carcinogens and destroy certain nutrients that act as natural preventatives to cancer.

Most of the research indicates that a strong link exists between alcohol and cancers of the esophagus, pharynx and mouth. There is a suggested, those less strongly proven, link between cancers of the liver, breast and colon.

According to the American Cancer Society, oral cancers are six times more common in alcohol users than in non alcohol users.

Obviously, all of this evidence points to the conclusion that you should avoid alcohol so you can lower your chances of contracting these types of cancer.

For most people the question then comes down to a simple decision: are the benefits of drinking alcohol larger than the potential deficits of cancer? As long as the mythology continues that there is no cure for cancer, the question should be fairly simple to answer. Very few people would happily enjoy a few nights out with friends drinking for months or years of painful cancer.

Put plainly, our bodies are designed to heal themselves. Our immune system was created to keep our bodies healthy. However, like any other worker, our immune system cannot do its work if we don’t give it the necessary tools.

One of the effects of alcohol, which isn’t one of the reasons most folks drink it, is that it reduces the ability of your immune system to do its job. So, people who regularly drink alcohol are regularly inhibiting the ability of their immune system to do its job.

Our cells are constantly dividing and there are a large number of ways the cell can become malignant. In reality, we probably develop malignant cells on a daily basis. However, once they become known to our immune system as a threat, they are destroyed.

It’s only when our immune system somehow misses the indications that a cell is becoming a problem that we term it cancer.

There is no dispute about the fact that doing anything which will inhibit our immune system increases our chances for becoming ill. It’s significantly odd, then, that we all continue going about our lives while continually doing things that inhibit our immune systems.

In the end, we all need to evaluate the actions we take and the decisions we make with an eye towards the potential rewards versus the potential risks. Alcohol diminishes the immune system and a diminished immune system greatly elevates our chances of developing cancer. Next time you start to drink alcohol, stop and ask your immune system if it really wants to get drunk.

Alcoholism and it's physical attributes

Alcoholism disease and alcoholism physical symptoms should be understood if there's concern about alcohol abuse. Alcoholism disease can be defined as a drug addiction where alcohol consumption is at a level that interferes with the person's physical and mental health and negatively impacts family, social or work responsibilities.

Because alcohol consumption can involve many organs in the body, long-term heavy drinking puts a person at risk for developing serious health conditions and illnesses. While each of the health conditions listed below can exist for reasons unrelated to alcoholism disease, certain conditions and alcoholism physical symptoms may be indications that alcohol abuse exists and is affecting the health of the person.

Here are examples of health conditions and related alcoholism physical symptoms that may indicate alcoholism disease:

• Liver Inflammation - alcoholism physical symptoms for liver inflammation include abnormal yellowing of the skin, eyeballs and urine, fever and abdominal pain. Since alcohol destroys liver cells and the ability of the liver to regenerate new cells, long term abuse of alcohol can lead to cirrhosis of the liver.

• Cirrhosis of the Liver - symptoms of cirrhosis or scarring of the liver tissue can be tiredness or even exhaustion, nausea, loss of sex drive and appetite loss leading to weight loss.

• Malnutrition - a common alcoholism physical symptom is malnutrition. While the symptoms will vary with the specific malnutrition-related disorder, general symptoms include dizziness, tireness, unexplained weight loss and reduced immune system function.

• High Blood Pressure - high blood pressure symptoms include dizziness, headache, blurred vision and nausea. And the American Heart Association advises that excessive alcohol consumption can raise levels of triglycerides in the blood and related increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

• Pancreaitis - long term heavy drinking can result in the development of inflammation of the pancreas which is called 'pancreatitis'. The pancreas are needed for food digestion, and pancreaitis symptoms include severe abdominal pain and weight loss.

• Erectile Dysfunction - alcoholism disease will likely affect a man in the bedroom. Heavy drinking can cause sexual dysfunction, meaning the man may have difficulty getting an erection. And the likelihood of alcohol-related erectile dysfunction occurring increases as a man gets older.

• Insomnia - the connection between sleep problems and disturbances and alcohol abuse has been proven by numerous studies. Alcohol in the body can interfere with getting to sleep and with enjoying deep, restful sleep. In fact, insomnia may continue for weeks or months after alcohol abstinance.

Additional long term alcoholism disease health effects include damage to the brain, nerve damage, bleeding in the esophagus and depression. Alcohol consumption can increase the breast cancer risk in women undergoing hormone replacement therapy, according to the National Cancer Institute. Alcoholic beverages are considered cancer-causing by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Important note - all of the conditions listed above may be due to reasons other than alcoholism disease and must not be considered conditions that should be self-diagnosed. Most of these conditions can be life-threatening and should only be diagnosed by qualified health care professionals.

Besides alcoholism physical symptoms, learn more about the alcoholism warning signs, alcoholism stages and proven resources available online that can help. It is never too late to begin recovery from alcoholism disease and alcohol addiction.