According to the latest study about the effects of alcohol on the human body, the findings are shocking. Researchers have explained why alcohol increases the risk of cancer. Furthermore, alcohol destroys stem cell DNA, according to a study by the Cancer Research Association.
Previous studies have revealed that alcohol can cause cancer by studying cells. But in this study, researchers used mice to demonstrate that prolonged exposure to alcohol leads to permanent DNA destruction.
Scientists at the Cambridge Biological Molecular Biology Laboratory inoculated ethanol to mice. Then they studied the genetic damage, using chromosomal analysis and DNA sequencing, caused by acetaldehyde, a harmful chemical released when the body processes the alcohol. They found that acetaldehyde can destroy DNA in blood stem cells, leading to rearranged chromosomes and permanent DNA modification.
These new findings help us understand how alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing 7 types of cancer, including common types such as breast or colon cancer.
Professor Ketan Patel, the lead author of the study and scientist, said: “Some cancers develop because of DNA damage in stem cells. While in some cases the damage occurs naturally, research indicates a terrible truth: Damage begins to occur when an individual consumes alcohol regularly.”
