No healthy level to of alcohol consumption – new study

By MiNDFOOD

No healthy level to of alcohol consumption – new study

The myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you is just that – a myth. This, according to a major study that finds there’s no healthy level of alcohol consumption.

Giving up drinking completely is the only way to avoid the health risks associated with alcohol, according to a major new study. Even the occasional drink is harmful to health, according to the largest and most detailed research carried out on the effects of alcohol, which suggests governments should think of advising people to abstain completely.

Most national guidelines suggest there are health benefits to one or two glasses of wine or beer a day. The results of this study point out that the safest level of drinking is none.

The uncompromising message comes from the authors of the Global Burden of Diseases study, a rolling project based at the University of Washington, in Seattle, which produces the most comprehensive data on the causes of illness and death in the world.

According to the report, alcohol-related problems kill around 7 per cent of men and 2 per cent of women every year, and drinking is the leading cause of death and disability for people aged 15-49. This despite previous research that has shown moderate levels of drinking may protect against heart disease. The new study concluded any supposed boosts to health are massively offset by the costs.

“With the largest collected evidence base to date, our study makes the relationship between health and alcohol clear – drinking causes substantial health loss, in myriad ways, all over the world,” said Dr Max Griswold from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, one of the study’s lead authors.

Current alcohol drinking habits pose “dire ramifications for future population health in the absence of policy action today,” says the paper. “Alcohol use contributes to health loss from many causes and exacts its toll across the lifespan, particularly among men.”

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