You might have heard that having a glass of wine a day is good for your health.
Many people believe that moderate drinking can help you live longer and lower your risk of heart disease.
However, a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs says this idea is based on flawed research.
For years, some studies suggested that moderate drinkers live longer and have fewer chronic diseases compared to people who don’t drink at all.
This led to the popular belief that a little alcohol could be beneficial. But not all research supports this view, and the new study helps explain why.
According to Tim Stockwell, Ph.D., a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, the main problem is that many studies didn’t consider people’s lifetime drinking habits. These studies often included older adults who had quit or reduced their drinking due to health issues. As a result, when moderate drinkers were compared to these “abstainers,” they seemed healthier.
Stockwell explains that this comparison is misleading. The new analysis looked at 107 studies that followed people over time to see how drinking habits affected their lifespan. Initially, it seemed like light to moderate drinkers (those having between one drink a week and two drinks a day) had a 14% lower risk of dying compared to non-drinkers.
However, when Stockwell and his team examined the data more closely, they found something different. The “higher quality” studies included younger people (under 55 on average) and made sure that former drinkers were not counted as non-drinkers. These studies showed no link between moderate drinking and a longer life.
In contrast, the “lower quality” studies, which included older participants and didn’t separate former drinkers from lifelong abstainers, did show health benefits from moderate drinking. Stockwell points out that these weaker studies are where the supposed health benefits of drinking come from.
The belief that moderate drinking is good for health has been around for decades. One famous example is the “French paradox,” popularized in the 1990s. This idea suggested that red wine was the reason the French had low rates of heart disease despite eating a rich, fatty diet. Stockwell notes that this view of alcohol as beneficial is still widely accepted.
In reality, moderate drinking likely doesn’t help people live longer and can even be harmful. It carries risks, including an increased chance of developing certain cancers. No major health organization has declared any level of alcohol consumption completely safe. Stockwell emphasizes, “There is simply no completely ‘safe’ level of drinking.”
If you care about wellness, please read studies about how ultra-processed foods and red meat influence your longevity, and why seafood may boost healthy aging.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the power of pickle juice ,and time-restricted eating: a simple way to fight aging and cancer.
