Light Drinking Linked to Breast Cancer Risk

The L.A. Times reported this morning that "drinking as few as three to six glasses of wine a week may increase a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer by 15%, according to an analysis by Harvard University researchers."

But, of course, if you're a heavy drinker of alcohol, your risk goes way up. Damned if you do, damned if you do a little.

"'Alcohol is a real risk factor, and the more you drink the higher your risk," said Dr. Steven A. Narod, a professor and breast cancer researcher at the University of Toronto..."

But preventive experts still say, "Whether women should consider abstaining from even light alcohol consumption... is not easily answered."

And, remember, previous experts in the field have noted that "having a few drinks a week has been found to lower the incidence of heart disease by 25% to 40%. The average woman's lifetime risk for heart disease is 1 in 2," while the average woman's risk for breast cancer is 1 in 8 over her lifetime.

Source: L.A. Times, November 2, 2011