Nope, “moderate” alcohol consumption isn’t good for you: Study

During pregnancy, drinking may cause the unborn baby to have brain damage and other problems. Heavy drinking also has been linked to intentional injuries, such as suicide, as well as accidental injury and death. Luckily, most craft brewers now indicate the alcohol by volume (ABV) contained in their beer on either the can what does a substance abuse counselor do or the bottle to avoid confusion. To break it down for you further, here’s how both the CDC and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) define a standard drink. In this video, Dr. Bobby Lazzara explains the potential benefits of alcohol for your heart and emphasizes the importance of moderation.

When is having any alcohol too much?

1. At first glance, this requirement appears to be a simple mathematical problem of comparing the alcohol contents of several beverages.
2. This article first reviews considerations relevant to defining a drink.
3. It affects levels of lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and insulin in the blood, as well as inflammation and coagulation.
4. Studies have shown that females begin having alcohol-related problems at lower levels of alcohol consumption than males.
5. For wine and distilled spirits (e.g., vodka and whiskey), however, the size of one drink is entirely up to the person pouring it and may vary from occasion to occasion.
6. The Nutrition Source does not recommend or endorse any products.

In addition, certain individuals, particularly older adults, who are planning to drive a vehicle or operate machinery—or who are participating in activities that require skill, coordination, and alertness—should avoid alcohol completely. Talk with a doctor or nurse if you’re having a hard time cutting back on your drinking. If you keep a lot of alcohol around, you may be tempted to go over the drinking limit you set for yourself when you’re at home. If you have a bad day or are feeling angry, don’t reach for a drink.

Effects of long-term alcohol use

Similarly, a healthy woman will likely experience no negative effects from drinking one drink per day; however, if the woman is pregnant, the same drinking level may lead to adverse effects (i.e., fetal impairment). In fact, in nutritional epidemiology studies that nida principles of effective treatment investigated the consumption of various food categories, reported alcohol intake was particularly reproducible compared with the reported intake of other nutrients (Longnecker et al. 1993). The benefits and risks of moderate drinking change over a lifetime.

Issues with past studies on moderate alcohol use and health

The higher the alcohol content (ABV) of the beverage, the less you should drink. In a landmark systematic review of existing medical literature, researchers publishing in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs have found that previous research finding that moderate alcohol consumption had health benefits was badly flawed. The study, which included nearly 5 million people, found that low-volume drinkers had a significantly lower mortality risk than did lifetime abstainers.

About half of cases of liver disease are attributed to drinking. It can cause cancer because it breaks down in the body to form a compound called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA. And according to the WHO, half of cancers in Europe linked to alcohol are caused by “light” or “moderate” consumption. One reason that might explain the link between moderate drinking and lower mortality risk seen in some studies, the authors said, is that light and moderate drinkers tend to be healthier than abstainers.

Shifting Benefits and Risks

Studies have found that with the same amount of drink, blood alcohol concentrations are at their highest just before menstruation and at their lowest on the first day after menstruation. “In countries like France, England and the Netherlands, which are heavy drinking countries, recommendations for alcohol consumption have actually gone down,” Naimi noted. In terms of public health guidelines, the study is consistent with the position of major health organizations, which have lowered their recommended limits for alcohol consumption in recent years. “Most observational studies don’t enroll people until later in life. People who are still drinking into their older age tend to be very healthy, and those who have developed alcohol problems or other health issues are not included,” Naimi noted.

In January 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) also published an updated statement that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for your health. “Moderate beer consumption tends to aetna momentum program increase bone density, and bone density is a valid biomarker for preventing osteoporosis,” says Wallace. Beer is a decent source of silicon, and silicon impacts bone mineral density.

When it comes to your health, drinking alcohol can be a balancing act. Expert opinions on safety and levels of alcohol consumption have generally varied over the years, with some studies even citing the potential benefits of an occasional cocktail or glass of wine. Even moderate drinking may raise your risk for some types of heart disease and cancer. For example, the risk of breast cancer increases even at low levels of drinking (for example, less than 1 drink in a day).

However, there is a vast middle ground between having one drink every now and then and alcoholism, and the truth about the potential risks to one’s health when it comes to moderate drinking are blurry. On the other, recent studies have contradicted the age-old wisdom about the benefits of what constitutes moderate drinking in the minds of the public. In addition to the circumstances under which drinking occurs, alcohol’s effects on the drinker (e.g., on the ability to drive a car) depend to a large extent on the blood alcohol levels (BALs) achieved after alcohol consumption. The same number of drinks, however, will result in different BALs in a 150 pound (lb) and a 250 lb person. Even people with identical body weights can achieve different BALs because of variations in the levels of water and fat in the body, which primarily depend on the drinker’s age and gender. Alcohol is a small, water-soluble molecule that is distributed throughout the body water.

The social and psychological benefits of alcohol can’t be ignored. A drink before a meal can improve digestion or offer a soothing respite at the end of a stressful day; the occasional drink with friends can be a social tonic. These physical and social effects may also contribute to health and well-being. Throughout the 10,000 or so years that humans have been drinking fermented beverages, they’ve also been arguing about their merits and demerits. The debate still simmers today, with a lively back-and-forth over whether alcohol is good for you or bad for you.

However, this study underscores the importance of understanding the true relationship between alcohol consumption and health risks, and also highlights the need for better study designs in future research. MONDAY, July 29, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A new review challenges the long-held belief that moderate drinking can have health benefits. But many of the studies that sold moderate drinking as a healthy habit were faulty, according to new research published last Thursday in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.