Does regular drinking really cause liver cancer? How does cancer occur? For the sake of health, please quit drinking

China's "wine culture" has a long history. Whether it is a gathering of relatives and friends or a banquet, wine is indispensable to the fun. People are accustomed to drinking as a kind of etiquette, and believe that toasting each other is a reflection of deep feelings or close familiarity. No matter whether it is red, white or beer, as long as there are several people at a table, they will be able to drink.

But now the incidence of cancer in the whole population is getting higher and higher, and cases of cancer around us are becoming more and more common, so there are more and more discussions about drinking, and the research on the relationship between drinking and cancer is becoming more and more in-depth. In August 2018, The Lancet, the world's top medical journal, published a major research result. This study shows that even the smallest amount of drinking can cause damage to health, and long-term, severe alcohol abuse can have serious consequences. The previous concept is that moderate drinking is good for health, but this study overturned some previous concepts.

The incidence of liver cancer is getting higher and higher. Does drinking alcohol cause liver cancer? This is a question that the public is concerned about. In fact, long-term heavy drinking not only increases the risk of liver cancer, but also increases the risk of digestive system cancers such as colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified carcinogens, and alcohol is classified as a Class 1 carcinogen. There is clear evidence that alcohol can cause cancer in humans.

Some people may say that some people drink alcohol all their lives but still live a long life, and some people do not drink alcohol but still get cancer, so there is not much relationship between drinking and cancer.

The occurrence and development of cancer is the result of the combined action of multiple factors. First, the occurrence of cancer requires the expression of proto-oncogenes and the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Secondly, when proto-oncogenes are expressed, some substances that promote tumor cell division act on cancerous cells, causing the occurrence of cancer to accelerate. In some people, the activity of tumor suppressor genes in the body is relatively high, that is, when cells in the body become cancerous, the body's immune system will quickly identify and eliminate the cancerous cells, so even if there are substances that promote cancer, they will not get cancer. But do you dare to bet?

At present, the scientific community has not reached a final conclusion on whether drinking is harmful or beneficial to health. Scientists have also conducted other studies and found that moderate drinking can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" gives some suggestions on drinking: children, adolescents, pregnant women, and nursing mothers should not drink alcohol. If adults drink alcohol, the amount of alcohol consumed by men should not exceed 25g per day, and that by women should not exceed 15g. The drinking recommendations are for people without chronic diseases. People with chronic diseases such as hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis C virus infection, and gastric ulcer patients should absolutely abstain from alcohol.

After the human body ingests alcohol, it is mainly absorbed through the stomach and small intestine, 90% is metabolized by the liver, and the rest is excreted through the respiratory tract, skin, etc. Therefore, long-term and heavy drinking will inevitably increase the metabolic burden of the liver, and the intermediate product of alcohol metabolism, acetaldehyde, is very toxic to the human body.

Alcohol is a "special" substance that is indispensable in life. For some people, alcohol is a necessity in life, so we should be more rational about the relationship between alcohol and health. Drinking is closely related to human health. The pros and cons of drinking mainly depend on the amount of drinking. "Toxicology" says that there is no clear boundary between food, medicine and poison, but the difference lies in the dosage.

There is a clear positive correlation between drinking and liver cancer. If you are infected with hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus, drinking will accelerate the development of hepatitis into liver cancer, so you should absolutely abstain from alcohol.

Summary: The occurrence and development of liver cancer is related to many factors. In addition to hepatitis B virus, it is most closely related to alcohol. Therefore, for our health, we should drink moderately. I have many friends who like to drink and often get drunk. Every time they have a physical examination, their liver function is abnormal. I advise them to stop drinking immediately, but they have to drink when they are entertaining. There are many such phenomena now, which is really regrettable. I hope everyone pays attention to their health and does not drink if they can, because health is the capital of revolution.

Finally, I hope every friend is healthy and lives a happy life. If you have any physical discomfort, please go to the hospital to seek help from a professional doctor.