White wine might be linked to skin cancer

Over the years, we’ve learned to accept
that wine probably isn’t entirely good for
us.


And now a link has been made between
white wine and skin cancer.
According to a new study published in
the American Association for Cancer
Research journal, those who drink alcohol
every day are at a 14% greater risk of
melanoma than those that don’t drink at
all.
And if you don’t live
somewhere where
you’re
regularly exposed to
the sun, but drink at
least 20 grams of
alcohol per day,
you’re at a 73%
greater risk of
developing skin cancer.
The real tragedy here is for white wine
lovers – researchers compared melanoma
risk among those that drank certain
alcohols most frequently, and regular white
wine drinkers had a 13% greater risk than
those who preferred red wine, liquor or
beer.
According to the study’s authors,
compared to other types of booze, wine
often has high levels of
alcohol’s carcinogenic byproduct, which is
linked to a risk of developing certain
cancers.

 But should we be taking it as gospel? Katie

Edmunds, health information officer at

Cancer Research UK, told Metro.co.uk that

we should be wary of doing so.

‘This study should be viewed with caution,’

she said.

‘Most of the results actually show that

drinking alcohol had little to no effect on

melanoma skin cancer risk.’

But this doesn’t mean we should drink to

our hearts’ content either – alcohol still

increases cancer risk as a whole.

‘Alcohol increases the risk of seven types

of cancer, including common types like

breast and bowel cancer.

‘And all types of alcohol increase cancer

risk – regardless of whether it’s in wine,

beer or spirits, the more you cut down on

the amount you drink, the lower your risk.’

So when it comes to skin cancer, Katie

says the best thing is to ‘enjoy the sun

safely’: ‘Spend time in the shade, cover up with

clothes, and use plenty of sunscreen with

at least SPF15 and 4 stars to help protect

the parts you can’t cover.’

Cheers to that.