From CNN:
We’ve heard for nearly a decade about the benefits of alcohol — red wine in particular. It’s good for your heart and may have other positive effects. In moderation, we thought, it’s not only OK, but actually good for us. But now there’s a different risk to consider: New research appears to show a link between alcohol and breast cancer in women. So what’s a girl to do about her nightly glass of wine?The short answer is, you have to judge for yourself, based on your health and your family medical history. Keep in mind that heart disease is the leading killer of women; in fact, women are six times as likely to die of heart disease as breast cancer. According to the new research, drinking just one to two drinks a day increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by 10 percent. Make that three or more drinks a day, and the risk triples to 30 percent. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente analyzed data on the drinking habits of 70,033 women of various races and backgrounds. They were trying to determine whether the type of alcohol or just the amount a woman drinks impacts her breast cancer risk. Lead researcher, Dr. Yan Li, says they discovered “it makes no difference if a woman drinks wine, beer or liquor — it’s the alcohol itself and the quantity consumed” that is critical. In fact, drinking three or more drinks a day may translate into an extra 5 percent of all women developing breast cancer as a result of heavy drinking.
Alcohol, not just red wine, has been shown to help your heart in several ways: by raising your HDL or “good” cholesterol, lowering blood pressure and preventing the formation of blood clots.
