Janice Strub, 54, likes her evening glasses of wine. She was at home cooking dinner this week when she heard news reports of the recent study that said women who drink even light amounts of alcohol are at a higher risk for breast cancer.

The Clifton resident, who works in accounting and has adult children, is healthy and slim, with no history of breast cancer in her family. So she listened to the report closely and then resumed her usual routine of drinking a few glasses of wine (red or white) during dinner with her husband. "It's our time to talk about our days," she said.

Strub, who grew up in an Italian household where wine was enjoyed with nearly every meal, is not ready to give up this relaxing ritual. "It's my one vice," she said while purchasing a bottle of white wine at Stew Leonard's Wines in Clifton on a recent afternoon. "Over in Italy and France, don't they drink a lot of wine and (not) have as high an incidence of heart disease as us?"

And she has her doubts about the study that followed 100,000 nurses and was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week. "I'll see," Strub said about cutting back on her consumption. Conducted over 30 years, the Harvard-affiliated study found that women who drink three to six servings of alcohol a week show a 15 percent higher risk of breast cancer over women who never drink.

Smadar Berlingeri, 42, of Upper Saddle River, who owns a wine importing business with her husband, said she's skeptical about giving too much credence to the study. "I'm not going to change my habits," she said.

For Berlingeri and many of her peers, a glass of wine is the occasional drink of choice. "We put our vodka and martini days behind us," she said. "Wine goes with food, it aids the enjoyment of my dinner, and it allows me to function and wake up in the morning feeling OK."

On the other side of the debate, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, an OB-GYN in Englewood, considers the Harvard study reputable. "It's another nail in the coffin against alcohol use, even moderate alcohol use," said Ashton, who beginning in January will be co-host of the ABC daytime health and wellness show "The Revolution."

While linking alcohol and cancer is nothing new, the study is important in highlighting for women exactly how much alcohol consumption (three to six drinks a week) may increase their breast cancer risk.

"It's very easy to get to that number," said Ashton. "I think women need to know their own individual risk."

Ashton said she drinks only about three glasses of wine a month, and only when she's out to dinner. That's not necessarily a calculated choice, she said, but happens because she has a busy exercise schedule.

An important point to take away from the report is that researchers are understanding more about the environmental contributions to cancer.

"You can't change your genetic history, but you can try to do everything in your power to reduce and eliminate environmental and behavioral risk," Ashton said.

Dr. Benjamin Rosenbluth, a radiation oncologist at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, said the recent study may cause us to redefine what is meant by saying "Everything in moderation."

The grape debate

Does a glass of red wine a day keep the doctor away? Turns out, there's no clear answer.

If you're at risk for heart disease, red wine can be beneficial. The famed French Paradox study from the 1990s showed that despite the population's high-fat diets, it had lower incidences of heart disease due to regular consumption of red wine. The antioxidants in red wine may prevent damage to blood vessels and reduce "bad" cholesterol."

But Dr. Benjamin Rosenbluth, a radiation oncologist at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, said other factors may also be contributing to France's lower overall heart disease rates. "They eat more fresh foods without preservatives and eat slower," he said.

But if you have a family history of breast cancer, red wine and alcohol consumption in general can increase this risk. "You need to personalize this in terms of the patient."

One probable explanation for the link between alcohol and breast cancer is that alcohol has a tendency to increase estrogen levels.

In the end, Rosenbluth fell back on the old "everything in moderation" adage. "We may need to redefine what we mean by 'moderation,'" he said. "But I think if my wife had a strong family breast cancer risk, I would probably push for less alcohol consumption. If there were no family history, I probably wouldn't be as cautious," he said.

E-mail: fujimori@northjersey.com