For decades, studies suggested that moderate alcohol intake could protect the heart, reduce diabetes risk, or even help you live longer. Newer research tells a different story.
And exactly no one (in the article or this thread) said you should never drink alcohol.
It’s just that for a very long time we were told that some alcohol was healthy, when in fact it is causing cancer (among other things). That sounds like some releveant info to me when I make the decision to drink alcohol or not.
Despite what the linked article claims, it’s still not clear whether alcohol’s known cancer risk is outweighed by any health benefits (for example, reducing the risk of stroke/CVD). At least one recent paper concluded that light or moderate alcohol use does reduce overall mortality.
Compared with lifetime abstainers, current infrequent, light, or moderate drinkers were at a lower risk of mortality from all causes [infrequent—hazard ratio: 0.87; 95% confidence interval: 0.84 to 0.90; light: 0.77; 0.75 to 0.79; moderate 0.82; 0.80 to 0.85], CVD, chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, and influenza and pneumonia. Also, light or moderate drinkers were associated with lower risk of mortality from diabetes mellitus and nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, or nephrosis. In contrast, heavy drinkers had a significantly higher risk of mortality from all causes, cancer, and accidents (unintentional injuries).
And exactly no one (in the article or this thread) said you should never drink alcohol.
It’s just that for a very long time we were told that some alcohol was healthy, when in fact it is causing cancer (among other things). That sounds like some releveant info to me when I make the decision to drink alcohol or not.
Here’s my favorite paper on the subject about the benefits/cost of alcohol usage by cardiologists from 2007.
https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2007.04.089
Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health: The Razor-Sharp Double-Edged Sword
Despite what the linked article claims, it’s still not clear whether alcohol’s known cancer risk is outweighed by any health benefits (for example, reducing the risk of stroke/CVD). At least one recent paper concluded that light or moderate alcohol use does reduce overall mortality.