Alcohol is good for your heart? Not so much, suggests downer study
Research suggesting a drink or two can be good for our health is always warmly welcomed — but a new review suggests it’s all too good to be true.
"The notion that one or two drinks a day is doing us good may just be wishful thinking," said University of Victoria researcher Tim Stockwell, who conducted the review published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
While many studies have suggested a light tipple is good for your cardiovascular health, Stockwell’s analysis suggests these results are back-to-front: it’s less “drinking more equals good health” and more “poor health equals drinking less”.
It could be that those who don’t drink may have cut back or given up on booze for health reasons (creating the illusion that lack of alcohol is responsible for their health troubles later in life), while those who enjoy good health as they age are free to keep on boozing (creating the illusion that alcohol is responsible for their good health).
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"We know that people generally cut down on drinking as they age, especially if they have health problems," said Stockwell in a statement. "[While] people who continue to be moderate drinkers later in life are healthier — they're not sick, or taking medications that can interact with alcohol."
According to his review, studies tracking people’s long-term drinking habits found moderate drinking has no real benefit for your heart.
Other research indicated people’s drinking habits change so much over time — most non-drinkers aged over 55 had been drinkers at some stage, for example — that it’s challenging to determine how much alcohol influences their long-term health.
Making it even more of a headache are the role other lifestyle factors (such as education) have on health, which could be as or more influential than alcohol consumption.
Australians are officially recommended to consume no more than two standard drinks per day (or four drinks in a single session), an amount thought to reduce the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
"The risks of low-level drinking are small," Stockwell said, adding that he isn’t saying people shouldn’t drink at all — but that they shouldn’t drink for unproven health benefits.
"We can say there are grounds for a healthy scepticism around the idea that moderate drinking is good for you,” he said.
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