3 Weird Things About Acetaldehyde
Posted on byBy Jane Henley
- Acetaldehyde can cause cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
- The more acetaldehyde you are exposed to, the higher your cancer risk.
- 1 in 2 adults and 1 in 3 youth in the United States were exposed to acetaldehyde in the past month because they drank alcohol.
What Is Acetaldehyde?
When you drink alcohol, your body breaks it down into a chemical called acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde damages your DNA and prevents your body from repairing the damage. DNA is the cell’s “instruction manual” that controls a cell’s normal growth and function. When DNA is damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and create a cancer tumor. A toxic buildup of acetaldehyde can increase your cancer risk.
The Link Between Alcohol and Cancer May Surprise You
At least six cancers are linked to alcohol use: mouth and throat, voice box, esophagus, liver, colon and rectum, and breast (in women).
All types of alcoholic drinks―even red and white wine, craft beers, and cocktails―are linked with cancer. The more you drink, the higher your cancer risk. But it’s not just excessive drinkers at risk. For example, with each 10 grams of pure alcohol (less than one drink a day), a woman’s risk for breast cancer goes up 5% before menopause, and 9% after menopause.
The less alcohol you drink, the lower your risk of cancer. If you choose to drink, drink no more than one drink a day (for women) or no more than two drinks a day (for men).
Secret Ways to Lower Your Cancer Risk
While there is no proven way to completely prevent cancer, limiting the amount of alcohol you drink is one of the most important things you can do to lower your risk of getting cancer. There are other things you can do, too:
- Don’t use tobacco. Stay away from secondhand smoke.
- Keep a healthy weight.
- Be physically active.
- Eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables.
- Protect your skin from too much exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun and tanning beds.
More Information
4 comments on “3 Weird Things About Acetaldehyde”
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This article states “For example, with each 10 grams of pure alcohol (less than one drink a day), a woman’s risk for breast cancer goes up 5% before menopause, and 9% after menopause.”
This would appear to indicate that EACH INDIVIDUAL DRINK increases the risk by 5% or 9%. Is this correct? Once a pre-menopause woman hits 20 drinks, lifetime consumption, she has doubled her risk for breast cancer? So, even a woman following the no-more-than-one-drink-a-day guideline could double her cancer risk in less than a month?
Thank you for your question. The blog post is referring to alcohol drinking patterns. Compared to a woman who doesn’t drink alcohol, a woman who drinks an average of 10 grams of pure alcohol (less than one drink) per day has a 5% higher risk of getting breast cancer before menopause, and a 9% higher risk of getting breast cancer after menopause. For more information, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/alcohol/.
How does acetaldehyde do this? I thought it was the free energy in the bloodstream causedby sugar and alcohol that feeds a nascent or growing tumor… not metabolites like acetaldehyde. Please explain if possible.
Acetaldehyde damages your DNA and prevents your body from repairing the damage. DNA is the cell’s “instruction manual” that controls a cell’s normal growth and function. When DNA is damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and create a cancer tumor. A toxic buildup of acetaldehyde can increase your cancer risk. This blog post from Cancer Research UK may help explain the process: https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2016/02/09/how-does-alcohol-cause-cancer/