Research shows there is no safe amount for alcohol consumption

In an ideal world, there would be the famous free lunch, but unfortunately that's not how things work. Sometimes the cost-benefit can be very beneficial, but there is a price to pay for everything. As much as some surveys point to the benefits of drinking small amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, the latest has not brought good news for those who enjoy a happy hour.

Calculated risks

To reach its sad conclusion, the team used a variety of data sources, including 694 studies on individual alcohol consumption and 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use.

The team also leveraged data from the 2016 Global Disease Burden Study, an annual survey that investigated the leading causes of disease and death worldwide, analyzing information from 195 countries between 1990 and 2016. Specifically, these data showed that 12% of the deaths of men, aged 15 to 45, can be attributed to alcohol.

Initially, the team led by University of Washington senior researcher Max Griswold sought to know how much alcohol consumption increased the risk of developing disease, but the results were daunting as any value already raises them.

Debates about the benefits of moderate drinking, and how moderate it is, continue to exist. Research, such as one from the Harvard School of Public Health, points out that alcohol in moderate amounts benefits the heart and circulatory system, but this average value varies from study to study, ranging from one to four doses.

The graph above shows the relationship well: the horizontal axis indicates the amount of doses and the vertical axis, the risks involved in alcohol consumption. This study, according to Griswold, dispels the myth of the beneficial dose. While there are small benefits to moderate drinking, such as preventing heart attacks, overall the costs turn out to be much higher.

Consumption without clinical excuses

"Much of the evidence that treats alcohol as beneficial is based on one result: ischemic heart disease or just a heart attack, but we found that there was minimal protective effect if any. In addition, we found a whole battery of cancers, injuries. and mental disorders associated with alcohol use, "says Griswold.

The researcher's conclusion is: you should not start a witch hunt for alcohol, but demystify the theme and accept that drinking is harmful no matter what the dose. Of course, very few people will stop drinking from the research result; however, as with other foods and habits that are also harmful, we need to be aware of what we are doing.

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