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Tim Stockwell, the lead researcher, told NBC News that evidence of health benefits in alcohol is “increasingly weak,” adding, “We just need to be very skeptical of scientific evidence or scientific studies suggesting there are health benefits.” Disadvantaged and vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related death and hospitalization, as harms from a given amount and pattern of drinking are higher for poorer drinkers and their families than for richer drinkers in any given society. They tend to be wealthier, are more likely to exercise and to eat a healthy diet, and are less likely to be overweight. “If you only look at what people are currently drinking, the nondrinkers will always look less healthy than the people who are robust and healthy enough to continue drinking,” Stockwell told Health. Dr. Stockwell and his colleagues have been questioning the alleged health benefits of alcohol for decades.
For quite some time now, moderate drinking — especially a nightly glass of red wine — has been considered a healthy habit that might help you live a little longer than people who don’t drink at all. The increased life span seen among light to moderate drinkers compared to teetotalers is mostly due to lower rates of heart disease and possibly stroke and diabetes. Aragam co-authored a 2022 study that also found a trend of healthy lifestyle habits among light to moderate drinkers, but concluded nonetheless that any level of alcohol consumption increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. The risk increased exponentially with heavier drinking, defined as more than eight drinks per week. In the Nurses’ Health Study, for example, among women who consumed 1 or more alcoholic drinks a day, those who had the highest levels of this B vitamin in their blood were 90% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who had the lowest levels of the B vitamin. [18] An earlier study suggested that getting 600 micrograms a day of folate could counteract the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk.
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About a quarter of alcohol-related deaths are due to liver disease, a quarter to cancer, a quarter to high blood pressure, and a quarter to alcohol-related accidents and injuries. A 2017 study in BMJ called into question previously held beliefs that a little drinking might be good for your brain. Looking at the drinking habits and cognitive skills of 550 older adults over a 30-year period, researchers found that the more you drank over that time, the drink moderately more brain mass you lost. While the supposed benefits of moderate drinking have been widely reported in the media, many reports have failed to take into account other risk factors. For example, light-to-moderate drinkers suffered poor health in midlife if they were former smokers or still had the occasional cigarette. This may be due to a direct effect of smoking or because of other lifestyle-related risks, such as lack of exercise or obesity.
Since Stockwell’s initial study, there’s been research reporting cardioprotective effects and other health benefits from low-to-moderate alcohol consumption. Light drinking has also been linked to a lower risk of cirrhosis, a reduced risk for dementia and cognitive decline, and even making you less deaf. The Guidelines also state that not drinking alcohol is the safest choice for lactating women. In general, moderate alcoholic beverage intake by a lactating woman (up to 1 standard drink per day) is not known to be harmful to the infant, particularly if the woman waits at least 2 hours after a single drink before nursing or expressing breast milk. Women considering consuming alcohol during lactation should talk to their healthcare provider. Wine, especially red wine, gained a reputation for having health benefits in recent decades after news reports emphasised its high concentration of resveratrol, a protective antioxidant found in blueberries and cranberries.
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One serving of alcohol is defined as 5 ounces for wine and just 1 1/2 ounces for hard alcohol, far less than what is typically served in bars, restaurants and people’s homes. Despite this, the question of beneficial effects of alcohol has been a contentious issue in research for years. Berries are tiny, tasty, and tantalizingly colorful — and they’re powerful allies for your health, helping protect everything from your head to your heart… The answer varied by geographic region and age group, since different health problems are more prevalent in different regions and age groups. Alcohol can have very dangerous long-term effects on a person’s health if abused. The analysis was conducted by researchers at the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the University of Portsmouth’s Department of Psychology.
Many midlife abstainers also began their adult life in poorer physical or mental health than peers who had completely abstained from alcohol. But once adjustments were made to make the samples more representative, the benefits of moderate drinking were essentially eliminated. Instead, the JAMA study found that female drinkers who consumed more than 25 grams of alcohol per day, which is about two 5-ounce glasses of wine, had a greater risk of dying prematurely while risk in male drinkers increased at 45 grams of alcohol per day. The review studied the drinking habits of 4.8 million participants, and it’s one of the largest studies focused on the health effects of moderate drinking to date.
New Research: Moderate Drinking Provides No Health Benefits
The new guidance, issued by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, was a stark departure from its 2011 guidelines, which recommended women limit themselves to no more than 10 standard drinks a week and men no more than 15. Considering this recent study from JAMA, it’s safe to say that, unfortunately, no amount of alcohol can increase your life expectancy or decrease your risk of disease. And if you currently don’t drink, or don’t drink much, there’s no reason whatsoever to start now.So what does this mean for the average drinker? https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/essential-tremor-alcohol/ Instead, take this newfound information for what it is, understanding that drinking is an indulgence to enjoy responsibly, but without real health perks (as you may have previously thought). Drinking is a personal choice, and moderation is always the best course of action. The study’s researchers ultimately concluded that even consuming low levels of alcohol—25 grams a day for women (less than 1 ounce) and 45 grams (about 1.5 ounces) or more per day for men—actually increased the risk of death, rather than boosting longevity.
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