report kills the 'rosé all day' vibe: no more than two drinks per week, says new guidelines
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alcohol can cause at least seven different types of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer. getty
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just as those longer days to enjoy social drinks on patios are coming to a close, new proposed guidelines on alcohol recommend canadians limit their consumption to two drinks per week to avoid negative health outcomes.
the canadian centre on substance use and addiction (ccsa) released its report this week with the new guidelines that are based on two years of research and a review of more than 5,000 peer-reviewed studies, ctv news reports. the findings show that alcohol in even small quantities can be harmful.
from a maximum two drinks per day to two drinks a week
it may come as a bit of shock compared to the current health canada guidelines on low-risk alcohol drinking that were created by ccsa and updated in 2011: maximum of two drinks per day and 10 drinks per week for women, and no more than three drinks per day and 15 drinks per week for men. now we’re down to two.
when you think of studies released just this year, though, it starts to make sense. researchers at the university of pennsylvania found modest levels of alcohol intake reduced the brain size of 36,000 adults, for example, which is associated with cognitive impairments. so for 50-year-olds, going from one alcohol unit or about half a beer a day to two units, such as a pint of beer or glass of wine, was the equivalent of aging two years.
and a large study out of korea linked increased alcohol use to a higher risk of cancer for drinkers who upped their intake and for non-drinkers who changed their habits to become mild, moderate or heavy drinkers.
the message is clearly if you don’t drink, don’t start.
maybe the timing is right for new guidelines. many women, for example, are pushing back against all the wine memes and “mommy wine culture” that has helped to normalize daily drinking habits and jokes like “rosé all day” to cope with parenting. as ally garber told cbc radio, “mommy wine culture allowed me to justify what i knew in my heart was a problem for many years. in fact, i was hiding my problem with alcohol in plain sight.”
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based on the ccsa research, even what you might consider a modest three to six drinks a week can put you at higher risk of developing certain cancers. as ccsa notes, cancer is the leading cause of death in canada and alcohol can cause at least seven different types of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer.
more than seven drinks per week can move your needle toward heart disease and stroke, the report states. heart disease is the second leading cause of death, and the ccsa says research over the last decade links alcohol with problems for the heart.
as the authors explain in the report: “the risk of negative outcomes begins to increase with any consumption, and with more than two standard drinks, most individuals will have an increased risk of injuries or other problems.”
the notion that drinking in moderation offers protection against heart disease has been widely publicized (and taken to heart), but according to the report, there’s no evidence to show that consuming any amount of alcohol has health benefits.
“research in the last decade is more nuanced with the most recent and highest quality systematic reviews showing that drinking a little alcohol neither decreases nor increases the risk of heart disease,” the authors write, adding that higher alcohol intake is a confirmed risk factor for cardiovascular disease which sets you up for heart attack and stroke.
and to be clear, the risks to your health remain the same no matter your perceived alcohol tolerance or what type of alcohol you’re drinking.
lifetime health risks from having more than two alcoholic drinks per week increases more steeply for women than for men because of their different physiology — putting women at greater risk of liver damage and diseases such as breast cancer, the ccsa warns.
men, however, are more likely than women to drink in excess, making them more prone to impaired driving collisions or hospitalization for alcohol-related medical emergencies. and alcohol consumption, especially for men, is also associated with violent behaviour, including sexual violence.
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how do you feel about the proposed guidelines? the ccsa is conducting a six-week online public consultation for feedback, so have your say in the survey. click here to have your say.
karen hawthorne is a toronto-based writer.
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