Breast Cancer and Booze

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Two martinis or three beers a day (40 or more grams of alcohol) boost a woman’s odds of breast cancer 40%. Even a daily glass of wine boosts odds 12%, finds a new Australian study that tracked about 17,000 women, ages 40 to 69, for a decade.

But the danger can be offset: Heavy drinkers who regularly took 400 mcg of folic acid, a B vitamin, had no more risk than non-drinkers. But heavy drinkers who regularly got only 200 mcg of folic acid had double the risk of non-drinkers. The reason: Alcohol impairs absorption of folic acid.

Caution: Other research shows that drinkers with a family history of breast cancer may not be equally protected by folic acid.

This EatSmart column is reprinted from USAWEEKEND Magazine and is copyrighted by Jean Carper. It cannot be reprinted without permission from Jean Carper.

Tags: alternative healing, alternative health, anti-cancer, cancer prevention, folic acid, natural healing, natural health, red wine, vitamin b