Moderate Alcohol Consumption - Also Dangerous?

Ethyl alcohol is absorbed in the digestive tract and then metabolized in the liver. Through the action of specific enzymes, alcohol is converted into acetaldehyde and then into safe acetic acid. However, ethyl and methyl alcohol are generally considered to be toxic substances for our body. Unlike carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, there is no place where excess alcohol can be stored. The liver has to work hard to break down alcohol, so it is not surprising that large amounts of alcohol lead to a worsening of health.

For several decades, most epidemiologists have agreed that moderate alcohol consumption has a positive impact on various diseases, including heart disease, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. There are numerous studies that support this correlation, and even healthcare professionals and some health organizations have begun recommending that people drink small amounts of alcohol based on the evidence. However, in recent years, some scientists have noticed a major problem - in many of these studies, the control groups consisted of abstainers, meaning that the health of people who consumed alcohol in moderate amounts was compared to those who had previously consumed alcohol but had stopped. This is not a fair comparison, as abstainers often have a body that has been damaged by years of alcohol consumption, or they change their habit in later life due to a deterioration in their health. If we compare people who drink in moderation with abstainers, we may observe better results in the former group, but this is only because the second group does not constitute a good control group. What if we compare people who drink occasionally with those who have never consumed alcohol? Dr. Tim Stockwell and his team attempted to answer this question by analyzing 87 studies in a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in 2016. Only 13 of these studies were deemed reliable, as they compared people who consumed alcohol in moderate amounts with those who had never consumed alcohol. After analyzing all of the studies included in the analysis, it can be concluded that small amounts of alcohol have a health benefit, but if we only consider the 13 studies (in which abstainers were not used as the control group), we find that moderation has no positive effects.

It should not be allowed for the aforementioned observations to cause an immediate change in our worldview and dietary habits. We should be open to new concepts and maintain a critical attitude towards the presented information. To date, we have too much data indicating the health benefits of consuming small amounts of alcohol, however, the aforementioned meta-analysis recently published could mark the beginning of a shift in societal attitudes.