Alcohol Benefits vs. Risks

Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

But I heard drinking was good for my health!

In 1991, the CBS news program 60 Minutes ran a story called "The French Paradox" which suggested that drinking alcohol, or at least red wine, reduced the risk of heart disease. Many people considered this a medical recommendation to drink. Moderate drinking may have some benefits, but it are also carries increased health risks.

A "drink" is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of liquor.
These all contain the same amount of alcohol--your brain can't tell the difference between a beer and a shot.

What is "moderate drinking"?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services define moderate drinking as no more than:

one drink a day for women and people over 60

two drinks a day for men (and no more than one an hour).

They also recommend that the following people should not drink at all :

women who are pregnant or trying to conceive
people who plan to drive or engage in other activities that require attention or skill
people taking medication, including over-the-counter medications
recovering alcoholics
persons under the age of 21.

A daily rather than weekly amount is suggested. It's healthier to drink a small amount daily than to binge (more than 4 drinks for men, more than 3 for women) on weekends or special occasions.

Health benefits of moderate drinking

Psychological - stress reduction
Cardiovascular - reduction in risk of coronary artery disease
Increased appetite - especially in the elderly

Health risks of moderate drinking

strokes caused by bleeding
medication interactions - including non-prescription medication
breast cancer - due to increased estrogen; this is a risk for premenopausal women
birth defects - fetal alcohol effect (FAE) and low birth rates are risks of even light consumption
heavier drinking - recovering alcoholics and people predisposed to alcoholism are unlikely to maintain moderation; the health risks of heavier drinking outweigh any benefits.

A Study on Drinking and Health Risks

While drinking can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, it does increase other health risks. In the following chart, mortality rates for non-drinkers serve as the baseline health risk (1.0 on the vertical axis). The risk for coronary heart disease even for heavy drinkers remains below the baseline; but risk of death from other causes goes up. The risk of death from liver disease skyrockets off the chart after only a couple of drinks a day.

Source: Bofetta, P, and Garfinkel, L. "Alcohol drinking and mortality among men enrolled in an American Cancer Society prospective study." Epidemiology 1:342-348, 1990.

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