Alcohol consumption and BC risk (sigh)

I live close to the Niagara wine region and, even, have a separate refrigerator in my cellar for wine only.  Beer (my husband's) has to go in the regular fridge... if there's room.  My favourite is the full-bodied, fruity Gerwurtztraminer.  I, also, adore ice wine and champagne.

Although I haven't given up drinking entirely, I did cut back when I was first diagnosed because I had heard of the "link".  After doing some research (and asking Beesie some pointed questions), I decided that the "link" between breast cancer risk and alcohol consumption was tenuous, at best.  However, at that point, I had lost a great deal of weight, partly due to the fact that I was no longer having a nightly glass (or two) of of my favourite chilled wine.  BUMMER!!!  Wine is a necessary food group - like chocolate and coffee -  why does it have to be so fattening?  Argh!  So... I continue to drink sparingly - a few glasses a month - but only because I want to keep my weight down.  Obesity has a stronger link with breast cancer risk than alcohol.

Oh, the calories!  It's so true.  I gave up drinking for a few months before and during chemo.  I lost 7lbs before I started chemo.  I won't count the additional 5lbs I lost during chemo as I was constantly vomiting during AC.  After the chemo, I went back up by 5 lbs.  Then came the holidays and the glasses of wine, plus being inactive because of my surgery, and I'm back up to my old weight.  I'm thin anyway so it doesn't really matter, but it just goes to show you how wine can pack on the pounds!

I am thin, too.......and after years of worrying about any extra fat, I now know that life really is to short to worry about being "perfect". I'll take 3-5 pounds and a more balanced, relaxed approach anyday.

As an aside, there is a newer study that shows overweight (but not obese) live longer than normal-weigh or obese.

How interestering Wallycat. My skinny husband played golf with a former Nasa Scientist who told him not to do too much exercise because being skinny is not healthy.hahahha!

As for alcohol consumption, I didn't drink much before my dx because I was always watching my calories plus I am vegetarian. AFter my 2nd dx (new primary), I said "what the hell I may as well increase my wine consumption since being healthy didn't stop me from getting b.c. in the first place."

Hi Gals:  I was waiting patienlty for a thread on this to pop up after this latest "study".  It sounded like BS to me and I didn't even knopw who funded the research. Thanks again to Bessie and otehrs who called it for what it is. I got very suspicious when it seemed to imply a very clear "cause and effect" with alcohol consumption.  I figure we would have all know about this ere long before now if this were true.

Like pretty much everyone else here, I have no intention of giving up my evening glass (or 2) of wine.  My husband is an importer of Italin wine, so I am fortunate to have access to all kinds of delicious varietals that he brings home from his tastings. For a week or 2 after my diagnosis, I cut back a bit, but in the end, I am just too weak to resist the siren call of a beautiful wine-especially if its free;-)

I have virtually no risk factors either (other than being a woman and dense breasts), yet here I am. I eat tons of veggies, organic, etc (though I do eat dairy & meat in moderation), have alwasy been super lean blah blah blah.  The breast care coordinator at the hospital (who is a vegetarian runner!) said to me that she feels like most of the women she sees come through are in fact, generally very heralthy.  She said the heavy-set coca-cola drinkers seem to have more biopsies come back B9 lol! She said she went through a phase thinking that it was the cheese she ate. Then she realized that it wasn't likely.

Who the heck knows? We all have to do what we feel is best for ourselves and our risk tolerance.  For me, wine & dark chocolate will remain staples ulness and until a valid study shows a clear statistical link.  And I am doubtful that will ever happen, since cancer seems to be a very complex combination of events happening at a cellular level and no one thing (other than asbestos for lung cancer & stuff like that) is the culprit.

My onc recommended a book called "The Blue Zones" when I started hassling her about supplements and stuff that I should take to prevent a recurrence.  The idea here is that it's not just abiut the type of diets we consume that impact longevity and disease prevention, it's about the type of lives we lead, our social networks, etc that have the most impact.  I had also read about wines from Sardegna and parts of Spain I think that were supposed to have particularly protective effect. 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/VitalityProject/sardinian-diet-hold-secret-longevity/story?id=8875605

http://www.spiritindia.com/2006/wine-worlds-healthiest-red-wines-in-sardinia-pyrenees-4289/

To your health!

I drink on occasion - and think with everything, all the risks factors of hormones in food, plastics, the environmental toxins we live with every day - adds to the risks - and alcohol is just another one on top of all that.  Ive had so many friends dx with bc this year, that some are looking at the water that we drink in AZ because of the mining that is done here. 

My fathers mother drank every day, hard alcohol.....mean as a wet cat......lived to be 95 years old - never had cancer. Go figure.