For many years the notion that moderate alcohol intake is not unhealthy, but that it may actually be beneficial for longevity has held sway. Red wine, has long been considered good for your cardiovascular system because it contains polyphenols, which help to protect the lining of the blood vessels. This notion came from the observation that in France there was a lower level of cardiovascular disease than in the U.S., even although the French diet was higher in rich, fatty foods such as cheese and they drank more wine. This was labeled “The French paradox”- higher wine intake associated with lower heart disease. Perhaps people were eager to accept the idea that drinking moderately could be beneficial since drinking alcohol is a socially acceptable activity.
There have been a number of studies presented to back up that claim. However some of the research into the possible benefits of drinking was funded by the alcohol industry. One recent report claimed that over time 13,500 studies had been funded by the wine/ alcohol industry. Now scientists have raised serious questions about the validity of studies that showed a health benefit to drinking.
There are some explanations as to why we’ve followed along with a misinterpretation of why heart disease rates might have been shown to be lower among drinkers:
One reason is that individuals who consume red wine may have healthier diets and lifestyles than others. Also, researchers believe that non-drinkers appear more unhealthy in studies because they’ve quit drinking alcohol due to seeing its negative effects or because they have health problems leading them to think it best they abstain from alcohol. Lead researcher Dr Tim Stockwell says : “These abstainers are often older people who gave up alcohol because their health was bad. ‘Being able to drink is a sign you are still healthy, not the cause of being in good health”. He opines, “Alcohol is our favorite recreational drug. We use it for pleasure and relaxation, and the last thing we want to hear is that it causes any harm…it’s comforting to think that drinking is good for our health, but unfortunately, it’s based on poor science.” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13605039/Exact-number-alcohol-shortens-life-expectancy.html
Research author Jinhui Zhao, PhD, along with Dr. Stockwell have published the following statement : “The proposition that low-dose alcohol use protects against all-cause mortality in general populations continues to be controversial.1 Observational studies tend to show that people classified as “moderate drinkers” have longer life expectancy and are less likely to die from heart disease than those classified as abstainers.2 However, mounting evidence suggests these associations might be due to systematic biases that affect many studies. For example, light and moderate drinkers are systematically healthier than current abstainers on a range of health indicators unlikely to be associated with alcohol use eg., dental hygiene, exercise routines, diet, weight, income4. …”lifetime abstainers may be systematically biased toward poorer health5; studies fail to control for biases in the abstainer reference group, in particular failing to remove “sick quitters” or former drinkers, many of whom cut down or stop for health reasons2; “
Much research that has been done more recently including very large international studies have turned the tide of opinion in the scientific community and a consensus seems to have developed which advocates against alcohol intake with the hope of any health benefit. Indeed the majority viewpoint now is that there is no health benefit associated with alcohol intake and that even what has been thought of as light to moderate drinking can only be harmful over the long run. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2802963
As more evidence is obtained through recent studies, it is increasingly being recognized that those responsible for issuing health guidelines, downplayed the risks associated with drinking because it is such an embedded part of our culture. Ireland, which recognizes it has a significant problem with alcoholism became the first country in the world to pass legislation requiring all alcohol products to display a health warning. Other countries are changing their guidelines for alcohol consumption and recommended that people restrict their intake to a much lower level than had been previously advised. Canada had previously recommended not more than 15 drinks per week for men and 10 drinks for women. Now they’ve drastically reduced these numbers to no more than 2 drinks per week for men and women.
In the US our health czar Dr George Koob has predicted that the United States will revise its guidelines and become stricter for alcohol consumption to match that of Canada. These national policy revisions are a reflection of the changing scientific consensus based on the publication of more studies, that have brought the medical community to the viewpoint that alcohol is essentially an unhealthy thing to consume, period.
NO Amount Of Alcohol Is Safe
In 2023 a meta-analysis of over 100 studies published over the last forty years has led to the scientific consensus that no amount of alcohol improves health and increases the overall risk of death. In 2022 Harvard published a study which lead to the conclusion they made that ” alcohol consumption at all levels was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.” Deaths from chronic diseases like heart disease linked to alcohol develop gradually.
The extensive data that has been compiled have allowed researchers to give estimates of how much a person’s life can be shortened tied to the amount of alcohol they drink. The experts on alcohol and longevity have released these estimates:
As little as two drinks per week across a lifetime can shorten one’s life by three to six days.
Having one drink per day can cut two and half months off of a person’s life.
Heavy drinkers-those consuming 35 drinks per week- approximately five drinks per day or two bottles of whiskey per week cut their life short by two years.
Alcohol damages our organs, not only the heart and liver but the brain and nervous system as well. Alcohol is considered a neurotoxin- as it’s metabolized it causes cell damage and inflammation. It increases blood pressure and contributes to the development of heart disease. Alcohol intake also reduces nutrient absorption through the GI tract and is detrimental to the immune system. It interferes with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, and suppresses the immune system.
Among the many negative health consequences of drinking alcohol may be promoting dementia. https://drsobo.com/excessive-alcohol-intake-is-high-risk-for-early-onset-dementia/
As published here , with reference to a study of over 1 million adult drinkers in France ,
“According to newly published research in The Lancet Public Health journal, alcohol abuse is an important and preventable risk factor for the onset of early onset dementia” . The WHO (World Health Organization) defines heavy drinking as more than four standard drinks of alcohol per day for men and 3 standard drinks per day for women.
