For decades, US guidelines have stated that drinking alcohol in moderation would not lead to medical problems for healthy adults. It also stated that it might even have positive benefits for heart health.
The Research
But a new analysis (Risk Thresholds for Alcohol Consumption, A Wood et al) published in the British journal The Lancet April 2018, questions the suggestion that an alcoholic drink or two a day is harmless or possibly beneficial.
The analysis
The new analysis combines data from 83 studies with a total of nearly 600,000 participants. But it makes a new comparison; previously, research on alcohol has almost consistently compared the health of drinkers to non-drinkers.
But there is a key problem with this approach, as some people do not drink alcohol because of specific health problems, such as alcoholism or cancer. In comparison to drinkers, non-drinkers may be in poorer health due to these medical problems, and so comparing the two groups may make drinkers look healthier than they actually are.
The new analysis took a different approach, by comparing lighter drinkers to heavier drinkers in order to help answer the basic question of how much people can drink before they increase their risk of dying.
What the research found
The research also found that drinking more than 100 grams of alcohol per week (about seven glasses of beer or wine) was associated with an increased risk of death. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines’ recommendation for men is double what the researchers found to be a safe amount.
The analysis also demonstrated that the more someone drank, the greater their risk of dying. Researchers found that people who drank seven to 14 alcoholic drinks a week lowered their life expectancy by about six months, that people who drank 14 to 24 drinks a week lowered their life expectancy by one to two years and that consuming more than 24 drinks a week lowered life expectancy by four to five years.
Looking at specific diseases through alcohol consumption
Looking at specific diseases, alcohol consumption led to an increased risk for stroke, coronary disease (not a heart attack), heart failure, fatal high blood pressure and aortic aneurysm. Moderate alcohol consumption did lower the risk of having a heart attack. But there are elements involved in health and nutrition that the new analysis was not able to consider.
For example, people who drink heavily are also more likely to smoke cigarettes, eat unhealthy foods and not exercise, so it is always difficult to ascertain if drinking is their primary problem, or whether other lifestyle choices are detrimental to health outcomes.
Alcohol consumption at lower levels may have more of an impact on health than we currently understand, but now there are a broad range of factors that inevitably contribute to our overall well-being.
Time passes, new understandings are brought into the equation on our health, but even if the jury is out, moderation of everything is the key.
This makes for very interesting reading.
It is unfortunate that there is a lot of conflicting information out there about the benefits of moderate alcohol intake and the harmful effects on health of drinking per say.
I have never been a big drinker, well not since university; although I enjoy the odd beer at a barbeque or at Christmas dinner, so this doesn't really affect me.
But it is hard for people to make educated choices in the absence of consistent, reliable advice, so I agree with your in moderation approach.
Yes, this is the latest news to hit the headlines about alcohol, so I'm happy to go with it. Any article that helps us make educated choices has to be a good thing.
There will always be conflicting information out there, primarily because information comes from different sources with different interpretations. But when it comes to something like alcohol, the underlying message will always be the same.
But as long as common sense is applied and alcohol is taken within moderation, I can't see this particular issue being a problem.
You can drink alcohol with food until your face is pressed between your knees, which is likely to happen if you have a history of alcoholism in your family.
I know this, because my red eyes used to match the genes of some pretty heavy drinkers.
Thanks Tim. You've brought up a very valid point, which the research is now questioning.
I very much believe our genes and lifestyles have become part of the alcohol problem and given the fact that alcohol is addictive and where alcohol runs in families, we're more likely to have that predisposition.
Social drinking has also become more acceptable now. Our stressful lives is also another reason for the rise in alcohol. But being aware of a problem is the first step.
I also believe we can remove temptations by living a more holistic life and understanding our family history.