Drinking even a small glass of red or white wine daily can up breast cancer risk, a study published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism warned women who love sipping wine with dinner regularly.

Researchers from the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the University of Milan found that even moderate consumption of wine every day can increase the chances of developing the breast cancer by 5%.

A review of data on alcohol and breast cancer also found that women, who drink three or more drinks a day, are 50% more likely to contract breast cancer compared to women, who abstain wine. According to the findings, the risk of developing the disease increase by 30% in women, who drink two 175ml glasses of wine.

“Women should not exceed one drink [per] day, and women at elevated risk for breast cancer should avoid alcohol or consume alcohol occasionally only,” wrote Helmut K. Seitz of the University of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany.

For the purpose of research, study authors defined a drink as 10 to 12 grams of ethanol, the equivalent of up to 1.5 UK units, or around one 125ml glass of average strength red wine or a pint of lager.

The European researchers calculated that each 10g of alcohol per day was linked to 10 to 13% increased risk of cancer. “Since several populations show a high prevalence of light drinkers among women, even the small increase in risk we reported — in the order of five per cent — represents a major public health issue in terms of breast cancers attributable to alcohol consumption,” study authors wrote in the journal.

Hailing the research, Sarah Williams, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the research has made the fact evident that drinking even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer. She further advised women to reduce their alcohol consumption and maintain healthy weight to dodge breast cancer.