Alcoholic beverages are classified as carcinogenic.

You’ve surely heard that "a little wine is good for the heart," that "one drink doesn't count," and that drinking in moderation is fine. If I asked you what harm alcohol can cause, you’d probably mention cirrhosis, liver damage, and so on—but you might never have heard that the alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits is a Group 1 carcinogen.

That is the same classification given to tobacco, asbestos, processed meats, and solar radiation. Why on earth isn't this discussed more? Because there is a massively wealthy industry that has influenced policy and manipulated research studies to hide the cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption—and, in the process, to attribute health benefits to it that don't actually exist (such as the myth that a Mediterranean diet including wine is good for the heart). In fact, the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have long maintained that drinking alcohol—in any amount—increases the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer.

They also insist on the need for national governments to take action, yet so far, only one has done so. In this post, I explain what happens to your body when you drink alcohol and what amount is safe to consume.

I didn't know that alcohol is a leading cause of cancer; I only found out last year. What’s curious is that this classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer—which places alcohol in the same group as tobacco, asbestos, processed meats, and solar radiation—was actually made back in 1987. It’s nothing new; it has been known for my entire life. During that time, I witnessed tobacco companies being forced to display "smoking causes cancer" in large print, saw cigarette advertising banned in mass media and tobacco sponsorships prohibited in sports, and watched as they were compelled to put gruesome photos of smoking-related damage on their packs.

Meanwhile, alcohol packaging and advertising only tell you not to drink if you’re underage or pregnant, and not to drive if you’ve been drinking—there is no warning about cancer. Why? The word "cancer" hits differently. Most people don't personally know a victim of a drunk driver or a baby born with health issues because their mother had a few drinks during pregnancy; we don't identify as strongly with those situations. But cancer is something I think we can all relate to—you almost certainly know someone who died of cancer or battled it and survived thanks to some grueling treatment.

Seeing those little icons on your beer can is not the same as seeing a sign in capital letters stating "ALCOHOL CAUSES VARIOUS DEADLY TYPES OF CANCER" or a photo of a patient with laryngeal cancer; the alcohol industry knows this perfectly well and has done everything possible to avoid such labeling.

Allowing the alcohol industry to block regulations comes at a huge cost to public health; if the majority of young people drink alcohol, it is only a matter of time before the damaging effects begin to appear.

But what happens to your body when you consume alcohol? Why is it so harmful? And above all, why is it carcinogenic? When the ethanol found in all alcoholic beverages is metabolized, it turns into acetaldehyde—a chemical that damages the DNA and proteins essential to our cells. Reactive oxygen species are also generated, which—once again—damage DNA, proteins, and lipids through oxidation.

Alcohol also hinders the absorption of nutrients that help reduce cancer risk, such as vitamin A, folate, vitamins C, D, and E, and carotenoids. As if that weren't enough, alcohol increases the ability of tissues in the mouth and throat to absorb harmful chemicals—such as those found in cigarette smoke. Consequently, if you both smoke and drink alcohol, the risk of developing cancer of the mouth, larynx, and esophagus is not merely additive; it is multiplied.

And very importantly, alcohol raises blood estrogen levels to a point that can cause breast cancer. Evidence shows that consuming alcohol—and I repeat, any amount of alcohol—increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, stomach, liver, colon, and rectum; it has also been linked to pancreatic cancer. And no, there is no "less harmful" drink; they all contain ethanol, and the risk is present from the very first drink.

The WHO realized that it was impossible to establish a safe limit for daily or weekly alcohol consumption; the risk rises linearly from the first sip, and naturally, if you drink heavily, the odds skyrocket—much like beer foam. Even so, I think the cancer risk is just one of many highly negative aspects of drinking alcohol—aspects that are far better known, such as liver disease, cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, heart failure, heart attacks, and cognitive decline (loss of intelligence and dexterity), as well as gastritis, ulcers, and immune system suppression. Good grief.

It is almost as if we were drinking poison—because that is exactly what it is: poison, plain and simple. Like all alcohols, ethanol is a toxic compound.

I hope you found this interesting; if so, please spread the word, because hardly any media outlets talk about this. Who knows why? I believe it is absolutely essential for everyone to know this information.