WINE-CURE-ALL OR KILLER?

THE HYPE Just when you thought it was safe to sit back, relax, and enjoy a few heart-protective glasses of wine, alcohol seems to have lost the healthy tag it enjoyed in the past. Headline after headline warned us of the dangers of even a few glasses of wine increasing our risk of developing cancer, particularly bowel and breast cancer.

THE REALITY If you want to drink, you should do so in moderation, It's not all bad news: "Alcohol can be good for your heart-but only if you're a post menopausal woman or a man over 40, and it may be only red wine that's beneficial," says Dr. Sarah Jarvis, a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Moderate amounts-that's a unit or less a day-can help reduce blood stickiness and increase levels of beneficial high-density lipoproteins. One unit is eight grams (10ml) of pure alocohol, which is equivalent to one small glass (125 ml of 12 percent alcohol) of wine, or half a pint (three to four percent alcohol) of beer.

Drinking more than the recommended amount turns the benefits into risks. It increases the risks of heart disease, making you more prone to high blood pressure and increasing the risk of mouth, esophageal, and probably liver cancer. It is recommended that women drink no more than two to three units in one day, while everyone should ensure they have several alcohol-free days every week (maximum of 14 units a week for women and 21 a week for men).

Small amounts of alcohol-even one or two units on a daily basis-do increase the risk of developing breast and bowel cancer. However, the increased risk is small-two alcoholic drinks a day rises your risk of breast cancer by around 14 percent and your risk of bowel cancer by around ten percent-and you need to put it into the perspective of your own individual risk. If your risk is small to start with, a small increase will still mean that it is quite low.