Drinking Alcohol Moderately Won't Actually Help You Live A Healthier, Longer Life, According To New Research
Experts told us for years that drinking alcohol on a moderate basis is actually good for our health. Turns out that research was flawed, and the opposite is true.
Having wine with your dinner a few nights a week (or even every night) was deemed a health hack to extend your life and even improve your health. Red wine is said to be heart healthy, containing antioxidants that can prevent coronary artery disease. That quickly spiraled into the idea that drinking alcohol on a fairly regular basis is good for you, so there was no need to worry if you enjoyed a cocktail or two with your friends when you go out for dinner. But the New York Times reports that we may have been duped all these years. The research and its methodology that once painted moderate drinking in a positive light may have been flawed, and there are actually several health issues that can arise from having a little more than one drink a day as a woman.
Drinking Alcohol Moderately Won't Actually Help You Live a Healthier, Longer Life, according to New Research
A new meta-analysis of 107 cohort studies involving more than 4.8 million participants found that was a "significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality among female drinkers who drank 25 or more grams [of ethanol] per day and among male drinkers who drank 45 or more grams per day." For reference, a glass of wine or a cocktail comes out to roughly 14-16 grams of ethanol. This now presents researchers with a question that will make many people uncomfortable: Should people drink less alcohol if they want to live longer?
A 2020 report found that the alcohol industry has actually been funding much of the academic research that claims moderate drinking is good for you. Since 2009, there's been a 56% increase in research funded by alcohol companies (or affiliated organizations). The University of York found that roughly 13,500 studies involving alcohol and good health were either directly or indirectly funded by the alcohol industry.
“Our study identified a worrying trend—While there has been a steep decline in the alcohol industry conducting its own research on health, at the same time, there has been an increase in the alcohol industry funding such research, by providing financial support to researchers or via alcohol related organizations," Dr. Su Golden from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York said. “This allows alcohol companies to exploit a ‘transparency loophole’ as many people assume these organizations are charities and don’t realize the connection to the industry."
“While there are many legitimate fields for research funded by the alcohol industry—such as studies into ingredients and environmental impacts—their involvement in health research is particular cause for concern. Many of these studies make claims about the protective cardiovascular effects of alcohol and suggest that substance abuse problems are down to individual choices rather than industry behaviors.”
Even when researchers are supposed to announce who the funders are of peer-reviewed research, this doesn't often happen. Just like tobacco and pharmaceutical companies have funded much research in the past in an attempt to shed a positive light on cigarettes and various prescription drugs, the alcohol industry is just as guilty of influencing people's thoughts on booze.
"While alcohol companies may claim they are carrying out a civic duty through their funding of research, these are studies that independent academics would be much better placed to conduct," Professor Jim McCambridge from the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York says.
The new meta-analysis proves the opposite of what we've been told, finding that a woman who drinks more than two ounces of alcohol a day sees a 61% increased risk of mortality. The data also suggests that moderate casual drinkers have a higher risk for various types of cancer, including liver and colon; not to mention alcohol is categorized as a carcinogen, and the American Cancer Society has officially recommended people cut out alcohol if they want to reduce their risks of cancer.
Drinking alcohol can also disrupt your gut, weaken your immune system, disrupt your sleep, negatively affect your libido, and affect your ability to retain memory. You don't have to swear off alcohol forever, but there are many benefits to at least significantly reducing how often you're drinking, and make sure you're pairing it with a good detox practice, such as infrared sauna or any activity that allows you to sweat. And when you do drink, it's best to keep the amount to a minimum.