Moderate Alcohol Consumption - Also Dangerous?
Isabella Taylor
2026-03-19
4 min. read
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Alcoholic beverages have been a part of every culture for thousands of years. Even before we started drinking them from straw and calling them drinks, fermented alcoholic drinks were known in many tribal communities around the world. The earliest references to drinking alcohol date back to ancient Egypt and China. It was produced as early as 7,000 years before our time. Today, it is often an integral part of any big celebration, but it has its own relaxing properties. However, many sources suggest that it can also have a positive effect on our health - or at least, that's what we've been told. The latest scientific research has challenged that notion, making us question whether moderate drinking is really good for us. It's time to reconsider the effects of alcohol on our health.
The process of alcohol processing in the body
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.
Critique of previous scientific research
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.
Practical concepts
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.
