Is moderate drinking bad for your health? What are the risks you take? British scientists discovered some unexpected consequences of drinking alcohol which break usual stereotypes.
A drink a day may not keep the doctor away, as we thought before
The University of Cambridge conducted a new research on alcohol consumption. The results suggest that drinking more than 5 standard drinks weekly could not only damage your health but also take years off your life.
The study analysed health and alcohol consumption habits of over 600,000 people in 19 countries, taking into account their age, smoking and diabetes history, as well as education and occupation.
The researches emphasize that their findings question the popular belief about moderate alcohol consumption being beneficial to one’s cardiovascular health. Academics looked at the association between different types health conditions and drinking. The results show that consuming over the recommended dose of alcoholic drinks leads to a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysms, fatal hypertensive disease and heart failure. However, drinking was associated with a slightly lower risk of non-fatal heart attacks.
Keep in mind these numbers if you want to enjoy a good company or relax after a long day without harming your health:
- 5 drinks a week is the upper safe limit – anything above is likely to lead to a lower life expectancy;
- 10 or more drinks per week can take 1 or 2 years of your life away;
- 18 drinks and above will shorten your life by 4-5 years.
Love red wine or believe it’s good for you? British scientists suggest daily consumption may harm your chances to live a long life.
Experts warn against the popular belief in health benefits of “moderate” drinking
Dr. Angela Wood from the University of Cambridge, UK, was the leading author of the study. She believes that minimizing alcohol consumption will help any drinker to prolong their life and lower the risk of several cardiovascular conditions. “Alcohol consumption is associated with a slightly lower risk of non-fatal heart attacks but this must be balanced against the higher risk associated with other serious — and potentially fatal — cardiovascular diseases”, she said.
The British Heart Foundation part-funded the study. Senior dietician Victoria Taylor added that many people still regularly drink more than recommended. “We should always remember that alcohol guidelines should act as a limit, not a target, and try to drink well below this threshold.”
The research was based on self-reported alcohol consumption and observational data.
Read also:
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- Do Russian men really drink a lot?
- Issues of the heart: 67% of people in Ukraine die from cardiovascular deceases
- Sugar adds to risk of heart decease even in healthy people
Really??? Who would have ever think that one drink a day keeps the doctor away? Puff! Apart from Italians, maybe, because they always have wine in their diets, but still sounds stupid to me… And, come on, there are addictions which are OBVIOUSLY dangerous for mental health… ugh, people!
I don’t think it’s a really big problem. I mean drinking of more than 5 drinks per week can shorten your life significantly. That’s not the main cause of early deaths and serious illnesses. So why should we take it as a rule and avoid drinking more than mentioned above? It can help only if your own lifestyle is perfect, if you are active physically, if you eat healthy food, if you are not nervous every day. So please forget about drinking… but do not drink too much. It’s unhealthy!
cyprusolga1984, statistics is a simple science. On average, people who drink more than 5 drinks a week live less than the ones who drink less than 5 glasses a week. You may decide for yourself that you don’t care about it, but it won’t change the statistics and won’t stop this factor from affecting your life.
Unfortunately, this evil called alcohol exists and I don’t think humanity will ever get rid of it. Some people drink a lot, some less; personally, I don’t feel addicted to it. Teachers from my university (not all of them) told us that consuming little amounts of alcohol (I think it was a glass of wine) may benefit your health due to antioxidants it contains. Still, that statement remains debatable. However changing your drinking habit alone won’t guarantee you a long life. There are other aspects of healthy way of life: stress-free environment, sufficient sleep, proper eating, and physical activity. Try… Read more »
For me 5 drinks per week is not “moderate”. It’s quite frequent drinking! And the alcohol should be of high quality. If you meet your friends once a week to sip a glass of wine it’s okay. In other cases it looks like addiction. Could people have fun without alcohol?!