One glass a day seems to help prevent rare esophageal cancer: study
People who drink white or red wine in moderation seem to be at lower risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma, a rare cancer with skyrocketing rates in Western countries like the U.S. and Canada, according to a new pair of studies. In the first report, from researchers at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., drinking a glass of wine a day was associated with a risk reduction of over 50 per cent in developing Barrett’s esophagus, an erosion of the esophagus that ups the odds for the cancer by up to 40 times (liquor or beer did not have the same effect). In the second study, from Queen’s University Belfast, subjects who drank one glass of wine or more a month lowered their risk for reflux esophagitis, an irritation often caused by heartburn, by more than 50 per cent. Dr. Liam J. Murray, a senior author of the Irish study, called the work “exploratory” and told the New York Times: “My view is that further work needs to be done before we put too much weight on it.”