Three times a week
Scientists have debunked the myth of the benefits of moderate alcohol consumption
Scientists have recognized even small portions of alcohol as dangerous to human health. Its regular use increases the chances of premature death by 20% at any age, according to an article published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (Hartz et al., Daily Drinking Is Associated with Increased Mortality).
"Everyone used to think that you can safely skip one or two glasses of wine or beer a day, and some of our colleagues even claim that such a ritual is good for health. We were able to show that regular consumption of even the smallest portions of alcohol significantly increases the likelihood of early death," said Sarah Hartz from Washington University in St. Louis (in a press release, Even light drinking increases risk of death – VM).
To drink or not to drink?
In the last decade, several dozen studies have appeared in the scientific press, the authors of which stated that there is a link between alcohol consumption and the development of various types of cancer.
For example, in 2010, scientists found out that drinking beer in large quantities can accelerate the development of bowel cancer, in 2011 and 2013, they revealed the link between alcohol and breast cancer. Other observations have shown that the combination of tobacco and alcohol exacerbates the carcinogenic effect of the latter.
On the other hand, many have written about the opposite – that those who drink a little wine or beer, on average, live longer than not only avid alcoholics, but also absolute teetotallers. These statements caused a lot of controversy among doctors, because they could not find an unambiguous explanation for this phenomenon.
Recently, UN experts analyzed similar studies and came to the conclusion that even small portions of alcohol have an extremely negative effect on human health and significantly increase the likelihood of developing cancer, heart disease, as well as accidents.
Hartz and her colleagues analyzed the results of three large studies on the effects of alcohol on the body, and confirmed that there is indeed a link between alcohol and early mortality, and also identified several interesting features.
The question of age
According to scientists, more than 400 thousand people of various ages – from 18 to 85 years old - participated in these observations. Some of them drank often, but little, and others rarely, but a lot. In general, all participants consumed a moderate amount of alcohol, but in different ways.
The analysis revealed several interesting trends related to how episodic and constant alcohol consumption affects the development of various diseases. For example, if the volunteers drank a little alcohol two or three times a week, the health of their hearts and blood vessels improved somewhat, but daily consumption of the same amount of alcohol, on the contrary, led to very negative consequences.
On the other hand, as Hartz notes, the use of any doses of alcohol significantly increased the chances of developing liver cancer and other forms of malignant tumors, as well as some chronic diseases.
In general, the negative effects outweighed the beneficial effects of alcohol and increased the likelihood of premature death by about 20% for both 18-year-old boys and girls and 85-year-old grandparents.
"On the one hand, an increase in the overall chances of premature death by 20% may seem small if you look at this problem from the point of view of young people who die extremely rarely. On the other hand, the same additional 20% will be a very serious problem for 75-year-olds, whose chances of dying are already high. They definitely should not assume that a glass of wine a day will somehow prolong their life," concludes Hartz.
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