Excess use of alcoholic beverages is one of the top 10 contributors to death and disability. However, the group studied consisted of 18,400 male physicians with no history of heart disease or cancer. This population has healthier habits than the rest of us. The men were asked at the beginning and at year 7 how much they drank. Those who drank more and increased their intake had higher rates of heart disease.
Alcohol consumption is notoriously under-reported in most studies.
But those men who said they drank very little did benefit. This is in line with many studies showing light to moderate drinkers have less heart disease than teetotalers. There is no simple answer to the question at the top. Now when nutrition news gets confusing, there IS a place to go to get the real story. Our FREE daily email newsletter, Nutrition News Focus, helps you make sense of it all.