I read some research the other day that I just had to share with you as it freaked me out a little. It was discussing the effects of alcohol on hormone levels and the snapshot is that only two standard drinks a day can increase your estrogen levels by up to 32%!
The study was a thorough one – 34 premenopausal women with a history of regular menstrual cycles were split into two groups. Group one consumed two standard drinks every day for three months, then no alcohol for three months. Group two did it the other way around. All their food was provided in order to make sure their weight stayed the same over the study period.
After three months of daily alcohol intake the average change was:
- Day 12-15 (ovulatory phase) – plasma estrone was up by 21%, plasma estradiol was up by 28% and 24 hour urinary estradiol had increased by 32%
- Day 21-23 (luteul phase) – all types of estrogen were elevated by 15% or more
This is astounding and very confrontational! I enjoy a glass of wine and now I need to rethink it. I know that long term research has shown an increased breast cancer risk for women who drink moderates amounts of alcohol.
Bad news with the festive season upon us!!
References
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/85/9/692.long
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8478958
