How Much Drinking Is Bad for You?

喝多少酒会有害健康？

Sumathi Reddy

苏马蒂·瑞迪

Though more people are calling themselves sober-curious or are trying zero-proof replacements for alcohol, drinking is a regular part of social life for most of us. A coupe of champagne can add fun to a celebration. A cocktail can take the edge off a tough day. And a cold beer can liven up a sports game. 

尽管越来越多的人声称自己是会喝酒但不依赖酒精的“清醒好奇（sober-curious）”人士或者正在努力寻求不含酒精的酒类替代品，但对我们大多数人来说，饮酒已成为社交生活的常规组成部分。几杯香槟酒可以为庆祝活动增添欢乐。一杯鸡尾酒可以缓解一天的辛劳。一杯冰啤酒可以活跃体育比赛的气氛。

Yet scientists’ warnings about the potential health problems of even small amounts of alcohol are growing more dire. For moderate drinkers, it can be hard to know what’s actually OK to consume: Is two a day that much worse than one? Are two drinks over a week the same as two in a day? 

然而，即使是少量饮酒也可能带来潜在的健康问题，科学家们对此发出了越来越严厉的警告。对于适度饮酒的人士来说，实际上可能很难判定喝多少酒是没问题的：每天喝两杯比喝一杯更糟糕吗？一周喝两杯和一天喝两杯是一样的吗？

Averaging no more than about one drink a day is relatively low risk, according to scientists who study alcohol. They warn the risk of cancer rises significantly when you exceed that. Studies have suggested that alcohol contributes to about half a dozen types of cancers, including breast and colorectal, as well as heart and liver disease, among other conditions. 

研究酒精的科学家表示，平均每天的饮酒量不超过一杯的话，健康风险相对较低。他们警告说，如果超过这个标准，罹患癌症的风险就会明显上升。研究表明，酒精与大约六种癌症的发生有关联，包括乳腺癌和结直肠癌，还有心脏病和肝病等等。

The only way to completely avoid related health problems is to stop drinking alcohol. Plenty of people do cut it out entirely, but for many others, that’s a nonstarter.

完全避免相关健康问题的唯一方法是停止饮酒。很多人确实完全放弃了饮酒，但对于另外的很多人来说，这是不可能的事情。

A U.S. federal dietary committee is currently evaluating alcohol consumption guidelines, which recommend that men consume no more than two drinks a day and, for women, no more than one. In 2020 a federal committee proposed lowering the recommendations for men in line with the women’s guideline, but it wasn’t ultimately adopted. 

美国的一个联邦饮食委员会正在评估饮酒指南，该指南建议男性每天的饮酒量不超过两杯，女性不超过一杯。2020年，一个联邦委员会提议将男性建议饮酒量降低至和女性一样，但最终没有被采纳。

Newer guidelines from others suggest being even more conservative than that. After assessing a wide range of studies, an influential group of Canadian researchers last year looked at how the risk of dying from anything alcohol-related – including cancer, heart disease and accidents – changes depending on how heavily people drink. They deemed the risks with two drinks or less a week to be low; three to six drinks as moderate; and seven or more “increasingly high.” 

其他机构提供的最新指南比上述建议更加保守。在对一系列广泛研究进行评估之后，加拿大一个有影响力的研究小组去年研究了这个课题：死于任何酒精相关因素（包括癌症、心脏病和事故）的风险是如何随着人们饮酒量的变化而变化的。他们认为，每周饮酒不超过两杯的风险较低；每周饮酒三至六杯的风险为中等；每周饮酒达到七杯或以上的风险“越来越高”。该研究小组的委员会制定了该小组在2023年发布的酒精与健康指南。

“At seven standard drinks per week [the risk] goes up much steeper, rises exponentially,” says Dr. Peter Butt, a clinical associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan and co-chair of the committee that developed the Canada group’s 2023 guidance on alcohol and health.

“每周饮酒七个标准杯，风险会急剧增加，呈指数级上升，”萨斯喀彻温大学（University of Saskatchewan）临床副教授、上述委员会的联席主席彼得·布特（Peter Butt）博士表示。

Canada and the U.S. define a standard drink as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits, which are equivalent to typical servings.

加拿大和美国将一个标准杯定义为12盎司（约355毫升）啤酒、5盎司（约148毫升）红酒或1.5盎司（约44毫升）烈酒，与典型的售卖份量相当。

When it comes to things you can do to lower your individual risk of developing cancer, cutting alcohol is high on the list. A new study in the American Cancer Society’s journal looked at so-called modifiable cancer risks, or ones that you can influence through behavior changes. It found that alcohol is the third strongest risk factor for women, behind cigarettes and excess body weight. It was the fourth strongest for men, after cigarettes, UV radiation and excess weight. 

当谈到可以采取哪些措施来降低个人患癌风险时，减少饮酒量是最重要的一项。美国癌症协会（American Cancer Society）杂志的一项新研究着眼于所谓的可改变的癌症风险，也就是可以通过行为变化来影响的癌症风险。该研究发现，酒精是女性面临的第三大危险因素，仅次于香烟和超重。对于男性来说，酒精带来的风险排在第四位，仅次于香烟、紫外线辐射和超重。

The study, which analyzed data from 2019, found that alcohol consumption resulted in about 24,400 cancer deaths and nearly 97,000 cases in the U.S. About 13% of colorectal cancer cases were linked to alcohol intake as were 16% of female breast-cancer cases.

这项研究分析了自2019年以来的数据，发现饮酒在美国导致了大约24,400人死于癌症和将近97,000例癌症病例。大约13%的结直肠癌病例与饮酒有关，16%的女性乳腺癌病例与饮酒有关。

How alcohol affects your body

酒精如何影响你的身体

Drinking can damage your body in a few different ways. When you metabolize alcohol, your body breaks it down to acetaldehyde, a toxic chemical that can damage DNA and proteins. Alcohol also generates chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, which can damage proteins, fats and DNA. And it can raise levels of the hormone estrogen, which is linked to breast cancer. 

饮酒会以多种不同方式损害你的身体。当你代谢酒精时，你的身体会将其分解为乙醛，乙醛是一种有毒化学物质，会损害DNA和蛋白质。酒精还会产生含氧的化学反应分子，这些分子会损害蛋白质、脂肪和DNA。酒精还会提高雌激素水平，而雌激素水平的上升与乳腺癌有关。

About 16,800 deaths could be prevented a year if adults who drink more than the U.S. recommendations reduced their alcohol consumption, according to an April study from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. About 650 deaths could be prevented if men drank one drink a day instead of two. 

根据美国疾病控制与预防中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention）研究人员4月份在《美国预防医学杂志》（American Journal of Preventive Medicine）上发表的一项研究，如果饮酒量超过美国建议水平的成年人减少饮酒，每年大约可以避免16,800例死亡。如果男性每天喝一杯酒而不是两杯，大约可以避免650例死亡。

Especially dangerous is binge drinking, typically defined as drinking four to five-plus drinks in one sitting. In addition to injuries and accidents associated with drunkenness, heavy drinking increases your likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes, studies have found. 

特别危险的情况就是酗酒，通常的定义是一次饮酒四到五杯以上。研究发现，除了与醉酒有关的受伤和事故外，大量饮酒还会增加你罹患二型糖尿病的风险。

“There are a lot of conditions where the main health concerns are at those binge levels,” says William Kerr, a senior scientist and scientific director of the nonprofit Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group. Inflammation and other damaging biological processes may be triggered by processing high amounts of alcohol. 

“在很多情况下，主要的健康担忧都与酗酒水平有关，”非营利机构公共卫生研究所酒精研究小组（Public Health Institute’s Alcohol Research Group）的高级科学家兼科学主任威廉·克尔（William Kerr）表示。身体代谢大量酒精可能会引发炎症和其他有害的生物过程。

His research has also found differences between beverages. Hard liquor is more harmful than beer or wine, especially when it’s drunk straight, he says. 

他的研究还发现了不同酒精饮品之间的差异。他说，烈性酒比啤酒或红酒的危害更大，尤其是当你直接饮用的时候。

Differences between women and men

女性和男性的差异

The dangers of drinking too much loom especially large for women, who have lower levels of an enzyme that breaks down alcohol. Their bodies also contain less water and more fat, and they weigh less than men on average.

对女性来说，过量饮酒的危险尤其大，因为她们体内的酒精分解酶水平较低。另外，她们身体的含水量较低，脂肪含量较高，平均体重也比男性要轻。

“Women are more vulnerable to the range of health harms above six drinks per week,” says Dr. Tim Stockwell, a scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research who worked on the latest alcohol guidelines developed in Canada, the U.K. and Australia.

“女性如果每周饮酒六杯以上，会更容易遭受一系列健康危害，”加拿大物质使用研究所（Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research）的科学家蒂姆·斯托克韦尔（Tim Stockwell）博士表示。他参与制定了加拿大、英国和澳大利亚的最新酒精饮用指南。

Most of the greater risk for heavier-drinking women is driven by breast cancer, says Nigel Brockton, vice president of research at the American Institute for Cancer Research. The other cancers linked to alcohol consumption are more common in males.  

美国癌症研究所的研究副所长奈杰尔·布罗克顿（Nigel Brockton）表示，酗酒女性之所以比男性面临更大风险，主要是因为乳腺癌。与饮酒有关的其他癌症在男性中更为常见。

If you’re hitting happy hour after work today, there are a few strategies to try to stay healthier. One approach is to alternate an alcoholic drink with a nonalcoholic one. This will slow your alcoholic intake and make you feel full, prompting you to drink less, says Butt. 

如果你要享受下班后与朋友小酌的快乐时光，可以采取一些策略来保持相对健康的状态。其中一个办法是交替饮用酒精饮料和非酒精饮料。布特说，这会减缓你的酒精摄入速度并让你有饱腹感，从而让你少喝酒。

Don’t drink too fast. Spacing out your drinks can slow down your intake and lessen their impact. And avoid drinking on an empty stomach – eat before and while you drink to slow the absorption of alcohol.

不要喝得太快。间隔性饮酒可以减缓你的酒精摄入并减轻它们对身体的影响。避免空腹喝酒——饮酒前和饮酒时吃点东西，以减缓酒精的吸收速度。