Ethanol (alcohol) causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer.
Risks start from the first drop
To identify a “safe” level of alcohol consumption, valid scientific evidence would need to demonstrate that at and below a certain level, there is no risk of illness or injury associated with alcohol consumption. The new WHO statement clarifies: currently available evidence cannot indicate the existence of a threshold at which the carcinogenic effects of alcohol “switch on” and start to manifest in the human body.
So no, you’re wrong, it specifically says your example is not “safe”. They said “beverage”, but consuming alcohol laden fruit would fall in the same category. The same would go for many “non-alcoholic” beers which are <0.5% alcohol, and many other things like kombucha, baked goods, chocolate, etc. You can debate whether they’re correct or not, but they were very clear that tiny amounts are not safe.
Now, it’s all about risk. And the more alcohol consumed, the higher the risk of developing cancer. The question is at what point the benefits outweigh the risk. Benefits could range from vitamins, minerals, fiber and healthy compounds, to reduced social anxiety and other psychological factors.
Thank you for your point of view. Since I have shared the article a lot of tibes myself, it’s nice to take another perspective on it.
I haven’t dived very deep into the research, but from what I have gathered the research did focus on beverages. Whether the alcohol content of a alcohol-free beer also falls into this category and therefore alcohol content in apples must be considered as well, was not conclusive to me.
Sure, if fruits reach alcohol levels of average alcoholic beverages I suppose it’s safe to label them as problematic as well. But until then I’d like to avoid reading too much into the research, until it has been clarified whether this really does apply to alcohol levels like in fruits as well.
From the WHO article:
So no, you’re wrong, it specifically says your example is not “safe”. They said “beverage”, but consuming alcohol laden fruit would fall in the same category. The same would go for many “non-alcoholic” beers which are <0.5% alcohol, and many other things like kombucha, baked goods, chocolate, etc. You can debate whether they’re correct or not, but they were very clear that tiny amounts are not safe.
Now, it’s all about risk. And the more alcohol consumed, the higher the risk of developing cancer. The question is at what point the benefits outweigh the risk. Benefits could range from vitamins, minerals, fiber and healthy compounds, to reduced social anxiety and other psychological factors.
Thank you for your point of view. Since I have shared the article a lot of tibes myself, it’s nice to take another perspective on it.
I haven’t dived very deep into the research, but from what I have gathered the research did focus on beverages. Whether the alcohol content of a alcohol-free beer also falls into this category and therefore alcohol content in apples must be considered as well, was not conclusive to me. Sure, if fruits reach alcohol levels of average alcoholic beverages I suppose it’s safe to label them as problematic as well. But until then I’d like to avoid reading too much into the research, until it has been clarified whether this really does apply to alcohol levels like in fruits as well.