This short podcast episode (recorded Sept 19, 2025) presents evidence linking routine behaviors—especially alcohol consumption and ultra-processed foods—to rising rates of early-onset cancers. Dr. Aaron Hartman highlights several statistics from recent studies: ~39% increased risk of early-onset colon cancer for people who drink one alcoholic beverage per day; an observed ~90% rise in colon cancers among 20–34 year-olds between 2010 and 2025; teen cancer rates reportedly up ~500% since 2000. He notes mechanisms (alcohol → acetaldehyde → DNA damage), suggests NAC/acetylcysteine can support detox, and emphasizes that diet and lifestyle are associated with roughly 70% of cancers—implying substantial preventability. The episode ends with practical advice (quit smoking/drinking, avoid ultra-processed foods) and a promo for Dr. Hartman's book Uncurable.
Questions this episode answers
About a 39% increased risk for early-onset colon cancer.
An expected rise of about 90%.
Surging ~500% (about fivefold) since 2000.
About 70%.
September 19, 2025.
Chapters
The people who drank just one drink of alcohol a day had about a 39% increased risk for early onset colon cancer. What else is being associated with an increased risk for in cancer? And the answer is processed foods, especially ultra processed foods. Welcome back once again to our short episode on a Friday. This is going to be going out on YouTube as well. And the topic today is what party combo could potentially be increasing your risk for cancer. This actually comes from some recent articles we'll have published. So this may or may not be familiar to you, but as many of you may know, the incidence of cancer is increasing in our country and there are some things people are doing on a routine basis that greatly increase the risk of cancer and some other things on top of the party combo, which we'll talk about in a second, that by and of itself is associated with a significant increased risk for cancer. And I'll be giving you exact statistics. And, and the question to follow up is so what? So how's this changed your life? And we'll talk about that towards the end. So first thing I want to talk about is actually is an interesting German study looking at people who both smoked and drank alcohol. And no, strange, shouldn't surprise people that people who drank one drink, just one drink of alcohol a day had about a 39% increased risk for early onset colon cancer. So that's not new news. We, you know, for a while we were saying drinking, you know, red wine was healthy for women. A glass a day would lower your risk for heart disease. And we all know that's not the case. That was probably more marketing than anything else. Even one glass of red, even healthy red wine, quote unquote, can actually increase a female's risk for breast cancer. So the basic gist is that there's really not a healthy quote unquote amount of alcohol consumption. Not to say it's not enjoyable, not to say that in cultures that drink it like in Italy, blue zones. Yeah, not saying those things. But here in America, Germany, with western, with our typical lifestyles, any amount of alcohol is not great. But just a daily could increase your risk for early onset colon cancer 39%. That's a concern because colon cancers on the rise, we've seen an expected rise about 90% in the 20 to 34 age group. That's between 2010 and 2025. And it's, it's going up. These numbers are expected to continue to go up. So again, smoking and alcohol is a bad combination. If you do do them, it's not ideal. And another statistic that was interesting from the study is that teen rates for cancer are surging over 500% since 2000. So from 2000 to today. So that's 25 years in teenage cancer. Rare, but a 500% Galini. I keep on 500%. A five time. That's easier to say. Five times increased risk. A teen cancer, though rare, is bad. It's really bad. Alcohol is one of the mechanisms that alcohol turns into acetaldehyde, which actually damages DNA. One of the anecdotes for antidotes for alcohol is actually NAC and acetylcysteine because it actually improves your liver's capacity for detoxifying. And that's also how if you already have a toxic load, you already have a poor diet that makes these things that increase your risk for cancer because of their effect on your liver's ability to detoxify acetald, it makes your risk go up even more.
Have you ever lost trust in your own body or in the doctors who were supposed to help you heal? It happens to millions of people who are stuck in the cycle of prescriptions, tests, and more questions than answers. That's why Dr. Aaron Hartman wrote his new book Uncurable. As a physician and a parent, he's lived through the pain of being told there's nothing more we can do. But instead of accepting that, he built a new path, One that combines traditional and functional medicine to uncover what's really driving illness. Uncurable is more than a book. It's a roadmap to help you find the root causes your doctor might have missed, reactivate your body's natural healing systems, and finally believe in what's possible again. If you've lost hope or trust in the system, this book will help you take back control. Go to UncurableBook.com and grab your copy along with Dr. Hartman's free resources to help you start your healing journey today.
But the interesting thing is what else is being associated with an increased risk for in cancer? And the answer is processed foods, especially ultra processed foods. There's other research coming out showing that by itself and, you know, put this in perspective. I was actually in medical school before genetically modified foods came out as well, some of the newer food additives. And so I didn't have this from birth. The new generation is literally coming out of the womb and being exposed to this in formula or in snacks and things like that. So it just makes sense that those that are exposed to processed foods. Did you expect to see earlier cancers and more aggressive and on processed foods Alone, diet and lifestyle alone is associated with about 70% of cancers. You can prevent about 70% of cancers with diet and lifestyle alone. So all of a sudden, you know, not smoking, not drinking and not eating processed foods can be a massive game changer for risk of cancer. So, you know, why are these party things? Because, you know, what do you do when you go out to parties? You eat your processed foods, your chips, your soda, your pop, which has a lot of stuff in it, you might have some alcohol, you might smoke. You know, these are just typical things that just removing them can have a significant impact on your health. The question becomes then the so what will stopping this stuff now lower your risk? And the answer is yes. It just depends on where you're at in your life lifespan. What we know from smoking literature is that if you quit smoking within 10 years, your risk for lung cancer goes, goes back to, doesn't quite match, but goes close to your age matched normal. So that means if you're at say 50, you quit smoking when you're 60, your risk for lung cancer is about the same, not quite about the same as another a 60 year old who didn't smoke. So the point is like making these changes now can have a profound impact on your risk for cancer. If there's a topic you'd like to hear about, something like this, you'd like to know more about certain foods you're curious about, please, you know, ask here if you have questions about the information I've stated. You know, drop your questions here. The purpose of these little mini episodes is to give people a little deep dive into something that actually might not only are they interested in, but it can have a profound impact on their health. So otherwise, we'll take care and we'll talk to you soon. Our next little mini deep dive, take care.
