Alcohol Intake Lowers Risk of Heart Disease But … Increases Risk of Breast Cancer?

November 10, 2011 | by

A study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that even moderate alcohol consumption — as little as one-half to one drink per day — increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by about 15% [1]. Daily consumption of two or more drinks per day (where a “drink” contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol, and results are independent of the type of drink consumed) increases breast cancer risk by 50%. These results suggest a much stronger effect of low to moderate alcohol consumption on lifetime breast cancer risk than previous studies [2-4] have done.

Women, wine and breast cancer

Exercise Intensity, Not Quantity Reduces Risk of Death from Heart Disease

September 7, 2011 | by

New research suggests that the intensity of exercise might be more important than the quantity in helping to prevent death from heart disease and other causes.

In a study presented last week at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2011, scientists described new research that examined the relationship between exercise duration, exercise intensity, and total risk of death [1]. Lead researcher Peter Schnohr of Copenhagen, Denmark explained that both male and female cyclists had a decreased total risk of death if they cycled vigorously (by their own perception), but that cycling duration didn’t show a similar protective effect.

Cycling vigorously