For years it's been accepted wisdom that drinking in moderation, especially red wine, helps lower the chances of heart disease. But now that presumption has been flipped on its head, as doctors are wondering whether moderate drinking is not a cause of lower heart disease but merely a byproduct.
Studies show that moderate drinking is most often done by people who live moderately in other aspects of their life. It may simply be that leading a moderate life of not eating too much, exercising some and not smoking is perfectly healthy on its own.
As the New York Times reports, the problem scientists face is that it's "very hard to disentangle" one aspect of a lifestyle from another in studies. As a result, there's no hard evidence that alcohol itself helps you live longer. "There has not been a single study done on moderate
alcohol consumption and mortality outcomes that is a 'gold standard'
kind of study -- the kind of randomized controlled clinical trial that
we would be required to have in order to approve a new pharmaceutical
agent in this country."
Circumstantial evidence certainly does point that way, though. As early as 1924, a John Hopkins scientist noticed that people who drank moderately lived longer when compared to people who drank heavily or not at all. Some 80 years later, the connection between alcohol and health remains as contentious an issue as ever.
Studies comparing moderate drinkers with abstainers have come underfire in recent years. Critics ask: Who are these abstainers? Why do
they avoid alcohol? Is there something that makes them more susceptible
to heart disease?
Some researchers suspect the abstainer group may include "sick quitters,"
people who stopped drinking because they already had heart disease.
People also tend to cut down on drinking as they age, which would make
the average abstainer older -- and presumably more susceptible to
disease -- than the average light drinker.
Interestingly enough, moderate drinkers tend to be wealthier and better-educated than non-drinkers and "are more likely to have all of their teeth." All of that makes the two groups even harder to study next to each other.
Scientists can argue all they want about whether moderate drinking extends lives. What's fairly certain is that moderate drinking certainly doesn't shorten lives and for most moderate drinkers, that's probably enough reason to keep filling the glass.
(Image via Flickr: Niemster)
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The heavy and non-drinkers die of heart attacks? OH NOES! What do the moderate drinkers die of? Happy blissful orgasms in their sleep? *snort*
No one gets a better prize for finishing last in this race; you get the same prize as everybody else and a few more years of questionable value. Do you really think life will be truly awesome at 100? Or 85? As awesome as it is now?
By all means, define your own limits, but do not abstain from truly visceral joy while you are young enough to really appreciate and participate.
Drink your drink, eat your meat, and have energetic sex in awesome places with awesome people.
Because tomorrow you might be bleary-eyed, hungover and accidentally fall in front of a bus. Or you might be clear-eyed, wide-awake, and the drunken bus driver runs into you just the same.
I am a moderate user, I also use a little bit of cultured buttermilk with a little grape juice in it for flavor at mealtimes and whenever needed, as it is non-alcohol, for my digestion and overall health. I am not 97 but may be someday who knows.
Further proof of my theory of universal moderation. We are finding more and more evidence that extremist lifestyles are harmful. Antioxidants are a perfect example. They have been shown to reduce free radicals in moderation but too much can actually create free radicals. (Vitamin C is an exception)
moderate drinking is not a cause of lower heart disease but merely a byproduct
So, if I have a lower level of heart disease it may cause me to drink moderately as a byproduct?
Seems to me that alcohol cuts grease and makes a good cleaner. Therefore, it must have the same functions when taken internally.
One reason that moderate drinkers are healthier has do do with less stress and more time spent kicking back.
Wow, so drinking in moderation, eating red meat in moderation, exercising frequently, briskly, if not long in duration, seems to correlate to making people live longer in studies, but hard core boozing, eating 50 oz rib eyes, and either not exercizing or running super marathons doesn't seem to lead to longer lives. Who would have thought?
What a coincidence! I'm drunk right now on white wine (like every night...hee) and I'm 97 years old! Who ya gonna believe, folks!
Interesting article, Thanks! Yeah, this is one of the reasons why I say take "drinking science" with a grain of salt. I like the stress comment jjskck, moderate drinking may help alleviate stress while heavy drinking does not in part because it is often a symptom of stress. Hmmm
It's the same "confluence of factors" phenomenon that makes people claim that people who eat breakfast tend to weigh less--is it a metabolic issue, or are breakfast eaters simply more conscientious about what they eat all the time?
I would venture to guess that people who drink a little tend to feel less stress. That's not a bad thing.
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