People who drink regularly live longer than those who completely abstain from alcohol

[Slimshandy]

https://www.business-standard.com/amp/a ... 596_1.html



People who drink regularly live longer than those who completely abstain from alcohol

Researchers found that those who did not consume any alcohol appeared to have a higher mortality rate, regardless of whether they were former heavy drinkers or not, than those who drank heavily. The team led by Charles Holahan, a psychologist at the University of Texas, found moderate drinking - defined as one to three drinks per day - was associated with the lowest mortality rate

[KendallsMom]

Yay!

Wait... This article is 11 years old. Is the science still valid?

[MonarchMom]

More recent studies are indicating that the ability to limit yourself to a moderate consumption is more likely the reason for longevity - not the alcohol. It is the overall healthy lifestyle and self-discipline that produces the benefit.

While alcohol can reduce stress for some people, it has other negative effects that usually outweigh this benefit.

"We are not advocating the use of alcohol to reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes because of other concerning effects of alcohol on health,” says senior author and cardiologist Ahmed Tawakol, co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.

...while light/moderate drinkers lowered their risk for cardiovascular disease, the study also showed that any amount of alcohol increases the risk of cancer. And at higher amounts of alcohol consumption — more than 14 drinks a week — heart attack risk started to increase while overall brain activity started to decrease (which may be associated with adverse cognitive health).

The authors concluded that research should focus on finding new interventions that reduce the brain’s stress activity without the deleterious effects of alcohol.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/ ... our-heart/

[Traci_Momof2]

Seems like an article made for people who want to justify their alcohol intake, and generally when people feel the need to justify it, there is a reason.

But what do I know.

[Rosehawk]

Looks like I'm dying early then. The more I drink, the more I drink. I don't have an off/that's enough switch. I've been sober for 17 years and even the smell of alcohol is nauseating.

What other people choose to do is their problem, not mine.

[AZOldGal66]

I argue that it depends on the regularity of the alcohol consumption and if it's a matter of a legitimate problem for the individual drinker.

[CherryTreez]

I have too many alcoholics in my family tree to ever dare touch it.

[SisterSomeone]

I mean, I love a good drink as much as the next person and you can pry my cocktails from my cold dead hands, but the headline is misleading. It says "people who drink regularly", but it's referring to people who drink in moderation, which is not quite the same thing. Someone who gets blackout drunk twice a week every week is also a person who drinks regularly, but somehow I find it difficult to believe that their consumption pattern isn't likely to be medically harmful.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that any potential benefit has very little to do with the alcohol and a lot more to do with the fact that moderate drinkers are capable of limiting their consumption, which suggests that they have discipline and self-control, which means that they're unlikely to be obese, couch potatoes, or prone to unhealthy coping mechanisms.

[Anonymous 1]

Good. The sooner I keel over dead, the better.

[mater-three]

I can’t stand the way it smells/tastes and, regardless of what people tell me, I can still taste the alcohol - even in the ones they say you can’t.