November 28, 2025 • 10 mins
This episode breaks down what actually happens when you drink alcohol—and why even small daily amounts meaningfully increase cancer risk. We trace the biochemical chain from ethanol to acetaldehyde, a highly reactive toxin that disrupts DNA methylation, accelerates tumor growth, and weakens immune surveillance. The goal is clarity: what alcohol does, how much risk rises per dose, and what limited mitigation strategies can (and cannot) do.
We examine the evidence showing that breast tissue is uniquely sensitive to acetaldehyde-driven DNA damage, and how cancer risk increases 4–13% for every 10 grams of alcohol per day. We also highlight the global inconsistency of a “standard drink,” making risk calculations difficult: different countries define one drink at vastly different gram amounts. You’ll learn the “dual-hit model”—how alcohol both accelerates cellular proliferation and suppresses immune defenses—and why public warnings lag decades behind research dating back to 1987.
We put alcohol risk into context by comparing dose-adjusted effects with smoking, clarifying similarities and critical differences in signaling strength and mechanisms. Finally, we outline partial mitigation strategies with folate and B12, emphasizing that while these nutrients reduce some molecular damage, they do not eliminate risk.
High-volume keywords used: alcohol and cancer risk, acetaldehyde, DNA methylation, standard drink, immune suppression, folate, B12, health risks
Listener Takeaways
- How alcohol becomes acetaldehyde and damages DNA
- Cancer risk rising 4–13% per 10 grams of daily intake
- Why “one drink” varies widely across countries
- The dual-hit model: tumor acceleration + immune suppression
- How folate and B12 help—without removing the underlying risk
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive.
Today we're getting into a topicthat's, you know, it's
everywhere in our culture.
It's alcohol.
But we're looking at it througha lens that's often ignored.
The really specific and franklystartling link between drinking
and cancer risk.
I mean, most of us get thatalcohol isn't exactly a health
food, right?
But the actual quantifiablerisk, that's what we're digging
(00:22):
into today, using the sources tofind out exactly how it works
and what the numbers say.
SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
That's right.
The public conversation isusually around, say, liver
damage, but the science on thecancer link is crystal clear and
it just isn't talked aboutenough.
So today we're going to hitthree key things.
First, the actual molecularprocess, what's happening in
your cells.
Second, the hard numbers, thepercentage of risk.
And third, something I thinkwill surprise you, which is how
(00:46):
the definition of one drinkchanges everything depending on
where you are in the world.
SPEAKER_01 (00:51):
Okay, let's start there with the molecular
mechanics.
Because toxin is such a vagueword.
What is actually uh happeninginside our bodies when we have a
drink?
SPEAKER_00 (00:59):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So the first thing to understandis that the main problem isn't
the ethanol itself, the alcohol,it's what your body metabolizes
it into.
Your liver breaks down ethanolinto a compound called
acetaldehyde.
SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
Acetaldehyde.
Okay, and what is that exactly?
SPEAKER_00 (01:15):
Well, it's highly toxic and it's very reactive.
It's the real villain in thisstory.
What it does, and this isextremely well documented, is it
damages your DNA.
Specifically, it messes withsomething called DNA
methylation.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
DNA methylation.
So if I remember correctly,that's not changing the DNA code
itself, but it's changing howthe code is read.
SPEAKER_00 (01:34):
Aaron Powell Exactly.
Think of methylation as thelittle sticky notes on the pages
of your genetic instructionbook.
They tell the cell which genesto turn on and which to turn
off.
SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
So it's controlling the cell's behavior.
SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
Precisely.
Yeah.
And when acetaldehyde comesalong, it starts scrambling
those instructions.
It's telling cells to grow whenthey shouldn't, to divide
uncontrollably.
And that, at its core, is whatcancer is.
SPEAKER_01 (01:57):
It's a dysregulation.
SPEAKER_00 (01:58):
It's a total dysregulation of the cell cycle.
And that's how you get theaggregation of cells, the
tumors, whether it's a glioma ora lymphoma or something else.
Alcohol creates the perfectstorm for that to happen.
SPEAKER_01 (02:10):
That makes so much sense.
Okay, so now that we understandthe how, let's get to the how
much.
This is the part of the researchthat for me was just staggering,
especially when it comes tobreast cancer.
SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
Yes.
The data on breast cancer isparticularly strong.
It seems where breast tissue isespecially vulnerable to these
specific DNA methylation changeswe've been talking about.
SPEAKER_01 (02:30):
So let's put a number on it.
For you listening, this isprobably the key takeaway.
What is the actual quantifiedrisk increase?
SPEAKER_00 (02:37):
The studies are very consistent on this.
For every 10 grams of alcoholyou consume per day, on average,
you see a four to thirteenpercent increase in the risk of
cancer, especially breastcancer.
SPEAKER_01 (02:48):
Four to thirteen percent?
That's a huge range.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
It is, and it depends on a lot of other
factors genetics, lifestyle.
SPEAKER_01 (02:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
But that 10 gram unit is the constant.
SPEAKER_01 (02:58):
And when you say per day, does that mean you have to
drink every single day?
SPEAKER_00 (03:02):
Not necessarily.
It's about the average.
So you have, say, seven drinkson a Saturday night.
That's 70 grams of alcohol.
Your weekly average is still 10grams per day, and that risk is
still there.
SPEAKER_01 (03:12):
Okay, that's a crucial point.
But it brings us to the next bigproblem.
Nobody walks into a bar andorders 10 grams of alcohol.
We order a drink.
SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
And that's where this gets really, really tricky
because what one drink means iscompletely different depending
on where you live.
SPEAKER_01 (03:29):
Right.
Let's break that down with theexamples from the sources.
This was a real eye-opener forme.
SPEAKER_00 (03:33):
Okay, so let's start on the low end.
In Japan, one standard drink ofbeer, a glass of sei, is defined
as containing about seven toeight grams of alcohol.
SPEAKER_01 (03:42):
So just under that 10 gram risk threshold.
SPEAKER_00 (03:45):
Right.
Now let's look at the US.
A standard drink here, a12-ounce beer, a five-ounce
glass of wine, a shot of liquorthat contains about 10 to 12
grams of alcohol.
SPEAKER_01 (03:56):
So in the US, just one drink a day puts you right
on the low end of that four tothirteen percent increased risk.
SPEAKER_00 (04:02):
Exactly.
You are already in that zone.
But then you look at a countrylike Russia.
SPEAKER_01 (04:07):
And what's the number there?
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
A standard drink, especially spirits, can contain
as much as twenty-four grams ofalcohol.
SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
Twenty-four?
Wow.
So that's more than double.
Yeah.
So what someone there mightconsider one drink is, from a
biological risk perspective,closer to two or three American
drinks.
SPEAKER_00 (04:23):
Precisely.
It makes global health advicelike drink in moderation almost
meaningless without thiscontext.
The 10 gram measure is the onlything that's biologically
consistent.
SPEAKER_01 (04:34):
Okay.
So that really clarifies therisk.
Now, the sources also talk aboutthis dual hit model.
It's not just that alcohol iscausing damage, it's also taking
out our defenses at the sametime.
SPEAKER_00 (04:45):
Yeah, this is where it gets more uh insidious.
It's a two-pronged attack.
So hit number one is what we'vealready discussed the
proliferation.
It causes mutations, it makestumors grow faster.
Exactly.
But hit number two issuppression.
It activo decreases your immunesystem's ability to fight back.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Okay, let's unpack that because our immune system
is doing this all the time,right?
We all have potentiallycancerous cells popping up
constantly.
SPEAKER_00 (05:09):
All the time, every single day.
You have B cells and T cellsthat are like a surveillance
team.
They're constantly patrolling,looking for rogue cells, and uh
essentially gobbling them upbefore they can become a
problem.
SPEAKER_01 (05:22):
Aaron Powell So there are natural anti-cancer
defense.
SPEAKER_00 (05:25):
Absolutely.
Cancer only really takes holdwhen the rate of that abnormal
cell growth becomes faster thanyour immune system's ability to
clear it out.
SPEAKER_01 (05:32):
And alcohol tips the scales.
SPEAKER_00 (05:34):
It tips the scales in both directions.
It's hitting the accelerator ontumor growth while also hitting
the brakes on your immuneresponse.
It makes those T cells lethargicless effective.
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
Aaron Powell So it's increasing the number of fires
while also drugging the firefaders.
SPEAKER_00 (05:49):
Aaron Powell That's a perfect analogy.
And that's why even what we calllow to moderate amounts are
problematic.
It's compromising the entiresystem.
SPEAKER_01 (05:56):
Aaron Powell Which just raises the obvious
question (05:58):
if the science is so solid, why isn't this common
knowledge?
Why don't we see warning labelsabout cancer risk on a bottle of
wine like we do on a pack ofcigarettes?
SPEAKER_00 (06:06):
Aaron Powell And that's the really fascinating
part.
This isn't new science.
The first big landmark papersestablishing this link were
published back in 1987.
SPEAKER_01 (06:15):
Aaron Powell 1987?
We've known this for decades.
SPEAKER_00 (06:18):
Aaron Powell For decades.
We've had a solid scientificconsensus for almost 40 years,
but it just hasn't penetratedpublic consciousness.
SPEAKER_01 (06:26):
Aaron Powell It's just so embedded in our culture,
I guess.
Prohibition obviously didn'twork in the U.S., it just
created other problems.
But we do know that alcohol is atoxin that people, well, enjoy
the effects of.
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
And that makes it very complex from a public
health standpoint.
The cultural acceptance is justincredibly powerful.
SPEAKER_01 (06:43):
Aaron Powell Well, there was one piece of data in
the sources that I think couldreally cut through that cultural
comfort, and it's the directcomparison to smoking.
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
Ah, yes.
The epidemiological comparison.
It is uh quite shocking when youfirst hear it.
SPEAKER_01 (06:55):
Aaron Powell So what is it?
SPEAKER_00 (06:57):
Some of the literature compares the risk of
consuming 10 to 15 grams ofalcohol a day, so roughly one
U.S.
drink too.
The risk associated with smokingten cigarettes a day.
SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
Ten cigarettes a day.
SPEAKER_00 (07:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:09):
From one beer.
SPEAKER_00 (07:10):
But that just sounds unbelievable.
It is a shocking number.
And we should be careful withit, right?
A direct one-to-one comparisonis hard.
You're talking about differentcancer types, different exposure
methods.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_01 (07:20):
Of course, lung cancer versus breast or
esophageal cancer.
SPEAKER_00 (07:24):
Right.
But the point of the comparisonisn't to be perfectly literal,
it's to convey the severity ofthe carcinogenic potential.
Even if you cut that number waydown, let's say one drink is
equivalent to the risk of justone cigarette.
SPEAKER_01 (07:38):
Even that changes everything.
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
Aaron Ross Powell It completely reframes the
conversation.
We have a universal consensusthat smoking any cigarettes is
bad.
If one glass of wine carries acomparable risk, that's a piece
of information people deserve tohave.
SPEAKER_01 (07:51):
It really is.
Okay, so for anyone listeningwho is, you know, feeling a
little concerned right now.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:56):
Is there anything that can be done?
The sources mention somepotential ways to uh mitigate
the risk, not eliminate it, butmitigate it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:06):
Yes, and that's an important distinction.
These are partial offsets, theydon't give you a free pass.
But the research points verystrongly to two things, folate
and other B vitamins, especiallyB12.
SPEAKER_01 (08:18):
Folate and B12.
Why those specifically?
SPEAKER_00 (08:20):
Because it comes right back to the beginning of
our conversation, back to DNAmethylation.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
Ah, the on-off switches.
SPEAKER_00 (08:26):
Exactly.
Folate and B12 are critical forkeeping that whole system
working properly.
They're part of the body'snatural DNA repair toolkit.
And what does alcohol do?
It actively depletes your body'sB vitamins.
SPEAKER_01 (08:40):
Oh, so it's another part of that dual hit.
It's causing the damage whilealso stealing the tools you need
to fix the damage.
SPEAKER_00 (08:46):
You got it.
So ensuring you have an adequateintake of folate, and B12 is
like making sure your repaircrew is fully supplied.
Yeah.
Studies show it does decreasethe cancer risk in drinkers,
even if it doesn't, you know,erase it completely.
SPEAKER_01 (08:59):
It's so interesting because you see B vitamins and
all those hangover supplements.
SPEAKER_00 (09:02):
Right.
And while they're probably notmarketing them with the cancer
literature in mind, they areperhaps accidentally addressing
one of the core biologicalproblems.
The body is screaming for thoseresources to process the toxins
and repair the damage.
SPEAKER_01 (09:16):
This has been incredibly clarifying.
So let's just do a quick recapfor you, the listener.
First, we have the mechanism.
SPEAKER_00 (09:24):
Alcohol becomes acetaldehyde, which messes with
your DNA's instruction manual.
SPEAKER_01 (09:29):
Then the numbers.
A four to thirteen increasedcancer risk for every 10 grams
of alcohol per day.
And we now know that 10 grams isabout one U.S.
drink.
SPEAKER_00 (09:40):
We also talked about the dual hit model.
Alcohol promotes tumor growthand weakens the immune system
that's supposed to fight it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:47):
And finally, that there are partial mitigation
strategies, like ensuring youget enough folate and B12 to
help your body's repair systemsfight back.
SPEAKER_00 (09:55):
Which brings us to the final thought we want to
leave you with.
SPEAKER_01 (09:57):
Right.
And it's this the scienceconnecting alcohol to cancer has
been established since 1987.
We've known this for decades.
So the quarter in a mullover iswhy isn't this information as
widespread and accepted as thelink between smoking and cancer?
SPEAKER_00 (10:12):
What are the forces, cultural, economic, social
rights that keep thisconversation so quiet, even when
the data is so loud?
Something for you to thinkabout.
Thank you for joining us on thisdeep dive.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome to the deep dive.
Today we're getting into a topicthat's, you know, it's
everywhere in our culture.
It's alcohol.
But we're looking at it througha lens that's often ignored.
The really specific and franklystartling link between drinking
and cancer risk.
I mean, most of us get thatalcohol isn't exactly a health
food, right?
But the actual quantifiablerisk, that's what we're digging
(00:22):
into today, using the sources tofind out exactly how it works
and what the numbers say.
SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
That's right.
The public conversation isusually around, say, liver
damage, but the science on thecancer link is crystal clear and
it just isn't talked aboutenough.
So today we're going to hitthree key things.
First, the actual molecularprocess, what's happening in
your cells.
Second, the hard numbers, thepercentage of risk.
And third, something I thinkwill surprise you, which is how
(00:46):
the definition of one drinkchanges everything depending on
where you are in the world.
SPEAKER_01 (00:51):
Okay, let's start there with the molecular
mechanics.
Because toxin is such a vagueword.
What is actually uh happeninginside our bodies when we have a
drink?
SPEAKER_00 (00:59):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So the first thing to understandis that the main problem isn't
the ethanol itself, the alcohol,it's what your body metabolizes
it into.
Your liver breaks down ethanolinto a compound called
acetaldehyde.
SPEAKER_01 (01:12):
Acetaldehyde.
Okay, and what is that exactly?
SPEAKER_00 (01:15):
Well, it's highly toxic and it's very reactive.
It's the real villain in thisstory.
What it does, and this isextremely well documented, is it
damages your DNA.
Specifically, it messes withsomething called DNA
methylation.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
DNA methylation.
So if I remember correctly,that's not changing the DNA code
itself, but it's changing howthe code is read.
SPEAKER_00 (01:34):
Aaron Powell Exactly.
Think of methylation as thelittle sticky notes on the pages
of your genetic instructionbook.
They tell the cell which genesto turn on and which to turn
off.
SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
So it's controlling the cell's behavior.
SPEAKER_00 (01:45):
Precisely.
Yeah.
And when acetaldehyde comesalong, it starts scrambling
those instructions.
It's telling cells to grow whenthey shouldn't, to divide
uncontrollably.
And that, at its core, is whatcancer is.
SPEAKER_01 (01:57):
It's a dysregulation.
SPEAKER_00 (01:58):
It's a total dysregulation of the cell cycle.
And that's how you get theaggregation of cells, the
tumors, whether it's a glioma ora lymphoma or something else.
Alcohol creates the perfectstorm for that to happen.
SPEAKER_01 (02:10):
That makes so much sense.
Okay, so now that we understandthe how, let's get to the how
much.
This is the part of the researchthat for me was just staggering,
especially when it comes tobreast cancer.
SPEAKER_00 (02:20):
Yes.
The data on breast cancer isparticularly strong.
It seems where breast tissue isespecially vulnerable to these
specific DNA methylation changeswe've been talking about.
SPEAKER_01 (02:30):
So let's put a number on it.
For you listening, this isprobably the key takeaway.
What is the actual quantifiedrisk increase?
SPEAKER_00 (02:37):
The studies are very consistent on this.
For every 10 grams of alcoholyou consume per day, on average,
you see a four to thirteenpercent increase in the risk of
cancer, especially breastcancer.
SPEAKER_01 (02:48):
Four to thirteen percent?
That's a huge range.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
It is, and it depends on a lot of other
factors genetics, lifestyle.
SPEAKER_01 (02:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (02:55):
But that 10 gram unit is the constant.
SPEAKER_01 (02:58):
And when you say per day, does that mean you have to
drink every single day?
SPEAKER_00 (03:02):
Not necessarily.
It's about the average.
So you have, say, seven drinkson a Saturday night.
That's 70 grams of alcohol.
Your weekly average is still 10grams per day, and that risk is
still there.
SPEAKER_01 (03:12):
Okay, that's a crucial point.
But it brings us to the next bigproblem.
Nobody walks into a bar andorders 10 grams of alcohol.
We order a drink.
SPEAKER_00 (03:22):
And that's where this gets really, really tricky
because what one drink means iscompletely different depending
on where you live.
SPEAKER_01 (03:29):
Right.
Let's break that down with theexamples from the sources.
This was a real eye-opener forme.
SPEAKER_00 (03:33):
Okay, so let's start on the low end.
In Japan, one standard drink ofbeer, a glass of sei, is defined
as containing about seven toeight grams of alcohol.
SPEAKER_01 (03:42):
So just under that 10 gram risk threshold.
SPEAKER_00 (03:45):
Right.
Now let's look at the US.
A standard drink here, a12-ounce beer, a five-ounce
glass of wine, a shot of liquorthat contains about 10 to 12
grams of alcohol.
SPEAKER_01 (03:56):
So in the US, just one drink a day puts you right
on the low end of that four tothirteen percent increased risk.
SPEAKER_00 (04:02):
Exactly.
You are already in that zone.
But then you look at a countrylike Russia.
SPEAKER_01 (04:07):
And what's the number there?
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
A standard drink, especially spirits, can contain
as much as twenty-four grams ofalcohol.
SPEAKER_01 (04:13):
Twenty-four?
Wow.
So that's more than double.
Yeah.
So what someone there mightconsider one drink is, from a
biological risk perspective,closer to two or three American
drinks.
SPEAKER_00 (04:23):
Precisely.
It makes global health advicelike drink in moderation almost
meaningless without thiscontext.
The 10 gram measure is the onlything that's biologically
consistent.
SPEAKER_01 (04:34):
Okay.
So that really clarifies therisk.
Now, the sources also talk aboutthis dual hit model.
It's not just that alcohol iscausing damage, it's also taking
out our defenses at the sametime.
SPEAKER_00 (04:45):
Yeah, this is where it gets more uh insidious.
It's a two-pronged attack.
So hit number one is what we'vealready discussed the
proliferation.
It causes mutations, it makestumors grow faster.
Exactly.
But hit number two issuppression.
It activo decreases your immunesystem's ability to fight back.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Okay, let's unpack that because our immune system
is doing this all the time,right?
We all have potentiallycancerous cells popping up
constantly.
SPEAKER_00 (05:09):
All the time, every single day.
You have B cells and T cellsthat are like a surveillance
team.
They're constantly patrolling,looking for rogue cells, and uh
essentially gobbling them upbefore they can become a
problem.
SPEAKER_01 (05:22):
Aaron Powell So there are natural anti-cancer
defense.
SPEAKER_00 (05:25):
Absolutely.
Cancer only really takes holdwhen the rate of that abnormal
cell growth becomes faster thanyour immune system's ability to
clear it out.
SPEAKER_01 (05:32):
And alcohol tips the scales.
SPEAKER_00 (05:34):
It tips the scales in both directions.
It's hitting the accelerator ontumor growth while also hitting
the brakes on your immuneresponse.
It makes those T cells lethargicless effective.
SPEAKER_01 (05:44):
Aaron Powell So it's increasing the number of fires
while also drugging the firefaders.
SPEAKER_00 (05:49):
Aaron Powell That's a perfect analogy.
And that's why even what we calllow to moderate amounts are
problematic.
It's compromising the entiresystem.
SPEAKER_01 (05:56):
Aaron Powell Which just raises the obvious
question (05:58):
if the science is so solid, why isn't this common
knowledge?
Why don't we see warning labelsabout cancer risk on a bottle of
wine like we do on a pack ofcigarettes?
SPEAKER_00 (06:06):
Aaron Powell And that's the really fascinating
part.
This isn't new science.
The first big landmark papersestablishing this link were
published back in 1987.
SPEAKER_01 (06:15):
Aaron Powell 1987?
We've known this for decades.
SPEAKER_00 (06:18):
Aaron Powell For decades.
We've had a solid scientificconsensus for almost 40 years,
but it just hasn't penetratedpublic consciousness.
SPEAKER_01 (06:26):
Aaron Powell It's just so embedded in our culture,
I guess.
Prohibition obviously didn'twork in the U.S., it just
created other problems.
But we do know that alcohol is atoxin that people, well, enjoy
the effects of.
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
And that makes it very complex from a public
health standpoint.
The cultural acceptance is justincredibly powerful.
SPEAKER_01 (06:43):
Aaron Powell Well, there was one piece of data in
the sources that I think couldreally cut through that cultural
comfort, and it's the directcomparison to smoking.
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
Ah, yes.
The epidemiological comparison.
It is uh quite shocking when youfirst hear it.
SPEAKER_01 (06:55):
Aaron Powell So what is it?
SPEAKER_00 (06:57):
Some of the literature compares the risk of
consuming 10 to 15 grams ofalcohol a day, so roughly one
U.S.
drink too.
The risk associated with smokingten cigarettes a day.
SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
Ten cigarettes a day.
SPEAKER_00 (07:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:09):
From one beer.
SPEAKER_00 (07:10):
But that just sounds unbelievable.
It is a shocking number.
And we should be careful withit, right?
A direct one-to-one comparisonis hard.
You're talking about differentcancer types, different exposure
methods.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_01 (07:20):
Of course, lung cancer versus breast or
esophageal cancer.
SPEAKER_00 (07:24):
Right.
But the point of the comparisonisn't to be perfectly literal,
it's to convey the severity ofthe carcinogenic potential.
Even if you cut that number waydown, let's say one drink is
equivalent to the risk of justone cigarette.
SPEAKER_01 (07:38):
Even that changes everything.
SPEAKER_00 (07:40):
Aaron Ross Powell It completely reframes the
conversation.
We have a universal consensusthat smoking any cigarettes is
bad.
If one glass of wine carries acomparable risk, that's a piece
of information people deserve tohave.
SPEAKER_01 (07:51):
It really is.
Okay, so for anyone listeningwho is, you know, feeling a
little concerned right now.
SPEAKER_00 (07:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:56):
Is there anything that can be done?
The sources mention somepotential ways to uh mitigate
the risk, not eliminate it, butmitigate it.
SPEAKER_00 (08:06):
Yes, and that's an important distinction.
These are partial offsets, theydon't give you a free pass.
But the research points verystrongly to two things, folate
and other B vitamins, especiallyB12.
SPEAKER_01 (08:18):
Folate and B12.
Why those specifically?
SPEAKER_00 (08:20):
Because it comes right back to the beginning of
our conversation, back to DNAmethylation.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
Ah, the on-off switches.
SPEAKER_00 (08:26):
Exactly.
Folate and B12 are critical forkeeping that whole system
working properly.
They're part of the body'snatural DNA repair toolkit.
And what does alcohol do?
It actively depletes your body'sB vitamins.
SPEAKER_01 (08:40):
Oh, so it's another part of that dual hit.
It's causing the damage whilealso stealing the tools you need
to fix the damage.
SPEAKER_00 (08:46):
You got it.
So ensuring you have an adequateintake of folate, and B12 is
like making sure your repaircrew is fully supplied.
Yeah.
Studies show it does decreasethe cancer risk in drinkers,
even if it doesn't, you know,erase it completely.
SPEAKER_01 (08:59):
It's so interesting because you see B vitamins and
all those hangover supplements.
SPEAKER_00 (09:02):
Right.
And while they're probably notmarketing them with the cancer
literature in mind, they areperhaps accidentally addressing
one of the core biologicalproblems.
The body is screaming for thoseresources to process the toxins
and repair the damage.
SPEAKER_01 (09:16):
This has been incredibly clarifying.
So let's just do a quick recapfor you, the listener.
First, we have the mechanism.
SPEAKER_00 (09:24):
Alcohol becomes acetaldehyde, which messes with
your DNA's instruction manual.
SPEAKER_01 (09:29):
Then the numbers.
A four to thirteen increasedcancer risk for every 10 grams
of alcohol per day.
And we now know that 10 grams isabout one U.S.
drink.
SPEAKER_00 (09:40):
We also talked about the dual hit model.
Alcohol promotes tumor growthand weakens the immune system
that's supposed to fight it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:47):
And finally, that there are partial mitigation
strategies, like ensuring youget enough folate and B12 to
help your body's repair systemsfight back.
SPEAKER_00 (09:55):
Which brings us to the final thought we want to
leave you with.
SPEAKER_01 (09:57):
Right.
And it's this the scienceconnecting alcohol to cancer has
been established since 1987.
We've known this for decades.
So the quarter in a mullover iswhy isn't this information as
widespread and accepted as thelink between smoking and cancer?
SPEAKER_00 (10:12):
What are the forces, cultural, economic, social
rights that keep thisconversation so quiet, even when
the data is so loud?
Something for you to thinkabout.
Thank you for joining us on thisdeep dive.
We'll see you next time.
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