If you drink alcohol, you lose.
New research suggests that no amount of alcohol is good for your health or safe to consume as you age.
A 12-year UK study that tracked 135,000 adults aged 60 and over found that even light drinking was associated with an increase in cancer deaths. This increase was more pronounced among the elderly who live in low-income areas and have health problems.
These findings challenge the previous belief that small amounts of alcohol, especially red wine, are good for the heart. This belief is based on weak evidence that the wine-savvy French have lower rates of heart disease.
The new research, published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open, claimed that there was no reduction in heart disease deaths among light or moderate drinkers, regardless of their health or socio-economic status.
Lead study author Rosario Ortolá, an assistant professor of preventive medicine and public health at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, told the New York Times, “We found no evidence of a beneficial association between low drinking and [overall] mortality.”
She added that as well as being good for you, alcohol consumption is likely to increase your risk of cancer “from the first point”.
The study linked heavy drinking, over 40 grams per day for men and over 20 grams per day for women, with more deaths from all causes.
A standard American drink contains 14 grams of alcohol, equivalent to 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits.
Moderate drinking is described as 20 to 40 grams of alcohol for men and 10 to 20 grams for women per day.
Dr. Amanda Berger, senior vice president of science and research at the Distilled Spirits Council, said the new study “contradicts decades of strong scientific evidence that consistently demonstrates that moderate drinkers live at least as long as non-drinkers, including when moderate consumers are compared to life. abstaining.”
Other studies recently suggested that consuming just one alcoholic drink a day can shorten a person’s lifespan by approximately two and a half months.
A separate study found that abstaining from alcohol – or reducing the amount consumed – can significantly reduce the risk of developing oral or esophageal cancer.
Researchers in the latest study noted that drinking wine and drinking it exclusively with meals lowers the risk of mortality, especially death from cancer. Ortolá suggested that the reduced risk may be attributable to slower absorption of alcohol, or may reflect other healthy lifestyle choices.
The US Dietary Guidelines state that “drinking less is better for your health than drinking more” and that women should limit themselves to one drink a day and men to two a day.
The 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are expected to be released in the coming months, so scientific groups are preparing reports on the relationship between alcohol and health.
In 2023, the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction unveiled updated health guidelines about drinking. Despite the century-old myth that a glass of wine is the key to longevity, Canadian officials reported that “no amount or type of alcohol is good for your health,” even in a “small amount.”
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has confirmed that alcohol is a known carcinogen and alcohol consumption increases the risk of several types of cancer, including breast, liver, head and neck cancer, as well as esophageal and colorectal cancer.
Even at low levels of consumption, the WHO argued that alcohol “can pose health risks”, but noted that “most alcohol-related harm results from heavy episodic or continuous alcohol consumption”.
#light #drinking #harmful #elderly #study #warns
Image Source : nypost.com