Does Homebrewing lead to cancer?

[Joewalla88]

A few months ago there was this. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1995240-beer-hops-could-help-fight-cancer-researchers-say/

 

[Cyclman]

So a journal called "Addiction" found alcohol is bad?

 

[Fedora]

Yes, it likely does. Drink up.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

After reading all this, I sat down for great lengths to ponder this dilemma.



I've come to the conclusion I am immortal, so I don't think this concerns me.


It's 9am on a Saturday. I think I'll have a coffee stout with my bacon to celebrate!

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

For those who don't know letting your homebrew sit in the sun uncovered for a couple months should remove most of the DHMO. Cheers!

I recently had the guts to try a beer from a keg that was sitting in my friends yard for almost 15 years lol. It was an old keg of Key West Sunset Ale from back before the brewery moved to the mainland. We went to clean it out and it smelled like an aged barley wine so I filled a pitcher to try. After a dozen Key West summers and hurricane seasons the beer was somehow still drinkable. Blew my mind lol.

 

[TallDan]

That time a bunch of journalists confused an opinion piece for a study

 

[ThomasO5608]

Actually, homebrew contains copious amounts of one of the most dangerous - even lethal - substances known to man -- dihydrogen oxide, or DHMO for short.

Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

• Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
• Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
• Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
• DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
• Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
• Contributes to soil erosion.
• Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
• Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
• Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
• Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.
• Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere, and in hurricanes including deadly storms in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of the southeastern U.S.
• Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect.

For more info on DHMO, please visit www.DHMO.org

This is total BS! Somebody had way too much time on there hands.

 

[myelo]

I am going to say yes, homebrew leads to cancer. You live longer if you homebrew because you get to "enjoy life more" and the longer you live the more likely it is to get cancer, thus:
Homebrew=Happiness=Longer Life=Cancer

Runners and people who exercise regularly are more likely to die from cancer compared to those who don't exercise.

...because they are less likely to die from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

 

[Roland_deschain]

The following is purely my opinion and not a claim of fact.........
Ok, having said that it is my belief that any such correlation would come more from the glyphosate that is used on the fields where they are growing the grains that we use in brewing. It stays in the soil, is retained in the crops that it is used on, and is present in everyone that doesn't eat an exclusive organic diet. We have Monsanto to thank for making our beer, and so much more in this world, poisonous......

 

[MilkStout]

Lots of junk science out there. It makes better headlines. However, it is true that if you drink a beer everyday the rest of your life you will die.

 

[cyanmonkey]

With the way scientific research is conducted these days regarding grants and funding, research teams are tasked with finding positive results in their research or risk losing grants.

Until this has been up against peer review and studied further, I'm skeptical.

 

[drksky]

The following is purely my opinion and not a claim of fact.........
Ok, having said that it is my belief that any such correlation would come more from the glyphosate that is used on the fields where they are growing the grains that we use in brewing. It stays in the soil, is retained in the crops that it is used on, and is present in everyone that doesn't eat an exclusive organic diet. We have Monsanto to thank for making our beer, and so much more in this world, poisonous......

That's a bunch of hippy happy horse****.

 

[heLLbent]

This is not a study. This is an article written based on "referenced" studies that as of yet, has zero citations from medical professionals. It appears the guy read studies of his own choosing and drew his own conclusions!
The article is new, so may be deleted or may be cited when it is reviewed.

They use the word "plausible" and I agree it is plausible that drunks have a higher risk of cancer from, passing out in the sun, using tobacco products, eating greasy food at the bar...

With the amount of tax revenues on alcohol I doubt we will ever know for sure how harmful alcohol is. Hangovers are a good clue that drinking to much is not a good thing.
I think for me the benefits outweigh the cancer risk. I will stick with my Pint a day average, sometimes banking them for the weekend,lol.

 

[55x11]

Lots of junk science out there. It makes better headlines. However, it is true that if you drink a beer everyday the rest of your life you will die.

much of this IS junk science - for example, it is possible to come to exactly opposite conclusion using the same sets of data!

The research paper being discussed here focuses on increased dangers from cancer yet claims any positive effect on cardiovascular system from drinking alcohol (in moderation) must not be there because..., well, just because.

It is clear that many "scientists" in this area are trying to pull some numbers to make arguments that suit their preconceived notions.

In my limited experience looking through the literature, it does seem there are (small) cancer risks associated with alcohol consumption - but the increases are tiny or non-existent for common types of cancers and only significant for cancers that are relatively rare.

For example, you may double your chances of developing larynx cancer if you consume 50g of ethanol daily. But the current rate is 3 cases per 100,000 people, and I would suspect that majority of those people may have been predisposed to these types of cancers for other reasons (genetics, smoking etc.) - and survival rate is >70%.

Meanwhile, there are 1.5 Million heart attacks/strokes in US alone, and 800,000 people die from cardiovascular deceases every year in US. (1 in 3 deaths). So decreasing your chances of developing cardiovascular decease, even by a relatively small margin, say by 5-10%, reduces your chances of dying a lot more than doubling of rate of say 10 relatively rare cancers (such as larynx, pharynx, stomach etc.).

Regardless of all these statistically "massaged" studies, the one thing that appears over and over again is that moderate drinking substantially reduces mortality rate over non-drinking/abstaining population. Even after correcting for various factors (such as abstainers being recovering alcoholics/not healthy to begin with, social factors associated with drinking, social status etc.). The mortality rate decrease benefits max out at about 2 beers a day, every day, but there are still benefits even at 5-6 beers a day (over abstainers group), the so-called J-curve. Drinking daily, low-ABV drinks, instead of binging, drinking slowly and with food, increases benefits. Drinking irregularly (for example abstaining during work days and then doing a lot of shots on Saturday night) is bad for you.