Health Health ministry revises alcohol guidelines

[thomas]

According to the draft guidelines for drinking, the daily doses of pure alcohol that raise risks of lifestyle-related diseases will be set at 40 grams or more for men and 20 grams or more for women. The proposed guidelines, the first of their kind in Japan, also state that "it is important to keep alcohol intake as low as possible," due in part to research results in recent years that even a tiny amount of alcohol can raise the risk of high blood pressure and cancer.

The proposed guidelines focused on the net amount of alcohol contained in beverages. Citing World Health Organization and other reports that the less pure alcohol one consumes, the lower their cancer and other risks will be, the guidelines point out that even light drinking could raise the danger of high blood pressure, as well as oesophagal cancer among men and bleeding strokes among women. They also highlight research findings that continuing to ingest approximately 20 grams or more of pure alcohol per day raises the risk of developing bowel cancer. Based on this, the draft advises: "It is important to set the amount you drink in advance by understanding your normal intake volume."

40 grams of alcohol per day raise lifestyle disease risk among men: Japan ministry panel - The Mainichi

TOKYO -- A health ministry expert panel on Nov. 22 drew up draft guidelines for drinking, setting the daily doses of pure alcohol that raises risks of

mainichi.jp

 

[thomas]

Last Monday, the Health Ministry introduced its preliminary guidelines on alcohol consumption, aiming to mitigate associated health risks. These guidelines delineate the quantity of alcohol intake that elevates the risk of developing diseases and conditions to promote moderate drinking.

The key points from the guidelines are:

1. Risk of Lifestyle Diseases:
   • For men, consuming at least 40 grams of pure alcohol per day raises the risk of lifestyle diseases.
   • For women, the threshold is 20 grams of pure alcohol daily.
   • To put this in perspective, 20 grams of pure alcohol is equivalent to either:
     • One 500-millilitre bottle of beer, or
     • One 180-millilitre cup of sake.
2. Risk of Bowel Cancer:
   • The amount of pure alcohol that increases the risk of bowel cancer is 20 grams per day for both men and women.

The ministry also cautioned that even small amounts of alcohol consumption can elevate the risk of:

• High blood pressure for both men and women.
• Esophagus cancer for men.
• Hemorrhagic stroke for women.

To mitigate health risks, the ministry recommends:

• Consuming food either before or during alcohol consumption.
• Drinking water between alcoholic beverages.
• Taking breaks from alcohol during the week.
• Avoiding heavy drinking in a short period.
• Refraining from pressuring others to drink.
• Not using alcohol to cope with anxiety or sleep deprivation.

While alcohol consumption per adult in Japan has declined since its peak in 1992, the number of people with alcoholism remains nearly unchanged, with approximately 46,000 cases in 2017 compared to 1996.

Japan Draws Up Guidelines on Alcohol Consumption

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Japan’s health ministry on Monday rolled out its first guidelines on alcohol consumption, aiming to reduce associated health risks.

japannews.yomiuri.co.jp