SAN ANTONIO — Last week, the surgeon general issued a report that links alcohol use with cancer. It was a shock to many of our viewers who had a question about that link, so we Verify.

Specifically the surgeon general linked seven different cancers to alcohol consumption and suggested all alcoholic beverages come with a cancer warning label.

THE QUESTION

Is it true that alcohol can increase your risk of getting cancer?

THE SOURCES

• Dr. Joseph Mercola, a Board Certified Family Medicine Osteopathic Physician and Author of Your Guide to Cellular Health
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  
  

THE ANSWER

TRUE

WHAT WE FOUND

Dr. Mercola says alcohol most definitely can be directly linked to cancer, and it comes from your body trying to break down the poisonous substance. He told us, "In the breakdown process, it produces this product called acid aldehyde. And that is what the poison is. And it contributes to destroying or poisoning the mitochondria, which are the little structures inside your cell that produce energy." 

He says without those fuel factories working you can't protect yourself from cancer, and your DNA is even damaged. Dr. Mercola added, "Essentially disrupts the normal structure of DNA. So it loses its ability to function."

The CDC agreed and said, "Some studies show that drinking three or more alcoholic drinks per day increases the risk of stomach and pancreatic cancers. Drinking alcohol may also increase prostate cancer risk. All alcoholic drinks—including red and white wine, beer, and liquor—are linked with cancer."

So yes, it is true. Alcohol can increase your risk of getting cancer.

Dr. Mercola says the damage caused by alcohol can be reversed, just like when a smoker quits, and their lungs heal over time.