Alcohol Worse For The Human Body Than You Think

Anyone over 21 could legitimately enjoy having a drink or two on a regular basis. However, despite the many negative effects that alcohol has in the human body - inebriation included - it seems that humans still consume a lot of it, be it wine, beer, or your choice of spirits.

According to new study, alcohol may cause 7 forms of cancer including liver, colon, & breast https://t.co/1sAM3sZYhQ pic.twitter.com/i7zF0X2azq

— Mic (@mic) July 25, 2016

Unfortunately , alcohol is even deadlier than scientists and medical health professionals originally thought them to be: according to a recent study published in the scientific journal aptly named Addiction, nearly six percent of cancer deaths worldwide could be linked to alcohol - even those who drink light to moderate amounts of the booze. And yes, even red wine, which is said to have cancer-fighting antioxidants, can raise cancer risk - which is to say, people would now have a hard time justifying that nightly glass of Merlot.

Jennie Connor, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Otago of New Zealand and author of the study said, "From a public health perspective, alcohol is estimated to have caused approximately half a million deaths from cancer in 2012."

The study said that there is a strong link between alcohol consumption and cancer in specific areas of the body, including the liver, colon, esophagus, and female breasts. Cancers in the throat, mouth, and liver, according to the Huffington Post, for instance, can be attributed to the carcinogenic compound called acetaldehyde. Salivary levels of this compound can reach high levels when drinking.

However, Connor also admitted that it is not yet sure what the exact mechanism is in causing cancer, and it may differ depending on which part of the body the cancer occurs.

Don't worry, not everyone thinks this is true. According to the New York Daily News, Dr. Sam Zakhari, former director of the Division of Metabolism and Health Effects at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shared, "to declare that alcohol definitively causes cancer based on cherry-picked epidemiology articles lacks scientific credibility."