Gaby
Experts have closely examined the widespread stereotype that one glass of wine a day is beneficial. The findings may not please everyone.
Proponents of the so-called French Paradox, which gained popularity in the 1990s, claimed that a daily glass of red wine protects against heart disease, and that this daily “panacea” is the reason France has a relatively low rate of such ailments.
Now, scientists have issued a new verdict on previous studies suggesting that small amounts of alcohol might be beneficial. These earlier works are considered low-quality, primarily because their authors often compared moderate drinkers with those who had to abstain from alcohol for health reasons.
Meanwhile, moderate alcohol consumption carries potential health risks, including an increased likelihood of developing certain types of cancer.
What Scientists Have Discovered
This is the view of Tim Stockwell’s team, a leading researcher at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria. The authors of the new study strongly disagreed with their predecessors, who compared moderate drinkers with non-drinkers and those who consumed alcohol sporadically.
As Dr. Stockwell noted, “Compared to them, people who continue to drink appear much healthier.”
The team analyzed the results of 107 published studies and found that individuals who consume alcohol in small or moderate amounts (from one serving per week to two per day) had a 14 percent lower risk of death during the study period compared to non-drinkers.
Dr. Stockwell pointed out that the “weakest” studies were the ones that “proved” the benefits of small amounts of alcohol for the body. These studies primarily focused on older adults and did not account for the differences between those who drank earlier in life and lifelong abstainers.
However, several higher-quality studies did not link moderate alcohol consumption with longer life, as reported by the Independent.
“There is absolutely no safe level of alcohol consumption,” Dr. Tim Stockwell stated.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of national health services around the world are reevaluating the long-held belief that a certain amount of alcohol is good for the heart.
To date, many of these services (including the UK’s National Health Service, NHS) have maintained that consuming less than 14 units of alcohol per week correlates with a low risk of developing diseases. However, as Canadian researchers rightly pointed out, a low risk is not the same as no risk at all. In their view, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.
What constitutes a serving of alcohol? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one serving of alcohol is equivalent to 30 milliliters of a strong alcoholic beverage. This dose is equivalent to 150 ml of wine or 350 ml of beer.
The study’s results were published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
