Well…maybe…for some people.
Alcohol is pervasive in our culture. Cocktails are synonymous with celebrations and holidays. A glass of wine can help us ease into the evening after a long day at work or calms us after a particularly difficult afternoon running errands with the kids.
Most of us know that one drink here or there isn’t going to cause any harm for the average person. But how much is too much? One minute, we hear that red wine is good for the heart but then the next, alcohol is causing cancer. New studies are coming out all the time claiming benefits and risks of alcohol consumption, often contradictory in nature. When it comes to alcohol, what is best for your health?
How much is safe?
The American Heart Association (AHA) makes the statement, “If you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation.” This is defined as an average of 1-2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women. It is important to note, this is not a weekly average, i.e. 7 drinks on a Saturday and none the rest of the week. The official Dietary Guidelines published by the government give a similar recommendation.
Alcohol and cancer
In April 2013, researchers from the National Cancer Institute looked at multiple studies to calculate the number of alcohol-related cancer deaths in 1 year. They found that 20,000 cancer deaths per year were related to alcohol use. This means 3.5% of total cancer deaths can be blamed on alcohol consumption. The most common alcohol related cancers considered were mouth, throat and esophageal cancers in men and breast cancer in women. Alcohol use is also a risk factor for liver and colorectal cancer.
A new study just published within the past 2 weeks adds another layer of complexity. Researchers in Britain determined that exercising the recommended amount of 150 minutes per week can offset the increased risk of cancer due to alcohol use.
Alcohol and your heart
A review in BMJ combined the results of multiple studies reporting on the effects of alcohol on heart health. They compared moderate drinkers (no more than 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women) to nondrinkers over 11 years.
Moderate drinking was associated with the following:
- 29% lower risk of being diagnosed with coronary artery disease (blockages in the heart arteries)
- 25% lower risk of dying from a heart attack.
Heavier drinking, on the other hand, increases risk for arrhythmias and heart failure and can lead to high blood pressure and high triglycerides.
Alcohol and fertility
A study just published in August 2016 found that moderate alcohol consumption does not decrease a woman’s fertility. However, researchers found that heavier drinking (defined here as 2 or more bottles of wine per week) did decrease fertility by 18%.
So what do I tell my patients?
As illustrated above, there are obviously mixed messages about the effects of alcohol on your health. Here is what I glean from all of this:
- If you enjoy alcohol, an occasional drink in moderation is probably ok. In fact, it may lower your risk of developing certain cardiovascular diseases.
- However, we do know there is an increased cancer risk. If you are someone with other specific cancer risk factors including strong family history of certain cancers, abstaining from alcohol is something to consider and discuss with your physician.
- You should not start drinking as a way to improve your health if you are currently a nondrinker.
- There are no health benefits from heavy drinking. Instead, we know heavy drinking absolutely increases your risk of multiple health problems.
